The boyfriend of LaShawna Threatt said he grabbed on to the back of her hair as she was falling out of the W Atlanta-Midtown hotel.
Then he ran to the elevator to get outside and help Threatt, an aspiring model celebrating her 30th birthday that day.
“Thank God it wasn’t daytime; I would have jumped out, no question,” Ray Hamilton told the AJC. “I couldn’t see anything out that window, though, it was pitch black.”
Threatt and a friend, Cierra Williams, 25, fell from the 10th floor of the W around 3:15 a.m. Saturday. Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos said the two fell onto a slanted sunroof adjoining the hotel. Threatt stayed on the sunroof but Williams rolled off and onto the ground.
Threatt was killed, and Williams remained in critical condition at Grady Memorial Hospital Tuesday.
Hamilton said he and six others had barely been in the hotel room for 10 minutes when the incident happened. They were returning to the room after dinner and then spending time on the hotel's rooftop.
“Everybody had just walked in and kicked off their shoes,” he said.
“There was no unruly activity, there was no one drunk, there was no party in the room,” he said.
Hamilton and another friend were standing next to Threatt and Williams, who were near the window, horseplaying, tickling each other and hugging, Hamilton said.
“LaShawna, she’s just a very affectionate person,” Hamiltion said.
Williams’ back was to the window, and Threatt was standing in front of her, Hamilton said.
“They leaned back a little bit, and they just went out,” he said.
Another friend in the room tried to grab Threatt’s arm.
Hamilton cut his hand on the glass while trying to hang on to his girlfriend to stop her from falling. Bleeding, he ran to the elevator and then outside.
“I come out of the door, see someone on the floor, and I just drop to the ground … I crawled over to her, covered her and said, ‘Hey, baby, stay with me, it’s going to be OK,” said Hamilton before he realized that the woman on the ground was Williams.
He stood up to look for Threatt but by that time Atlanta police officers had arrived.
“It’s been a nightmare for me,” Hamilton said. “How do two girls who weigh maybe 120 pounds a piece, standing at the window, build up enough force to not only break it but go out immediately?”
Campos with the APD said investigators won't know if alcohol was involved until toxicology reports are completed, but a crime is not suspected.
"It appears that there was no malicious act, no foul play," said Atlanta police homicide commander, Lt. Paul Guerrucci. "They were just wrestling with each other. They hit the window. The window broke. And they fell out."
Threatt was a model, who also did party promotions for alcoholic beverage companies.
Williams is a dancer, said Passionate Chonvill, who owns a marketing company.
"She is a background dancer. Very big in urban dancing," Chonvill said. "She is in love with dancing."
Jomarys Castillo, 24, a friend of Threatt, said earlier Saturday, about 20 friends met at an Atlantic Station restaurant for a celebration dinner.
"It was her 30th birthday and it was wonderful and fabulous, just like she was," said Castillo, who knew Threatt though modeling circles.
Afterward, most of the group went to the hotel, where Threatt had a rooftop party, said Castillo.
Castillo did not follow the group to the hotel.
"The last thing we talked about was her wanting to come to my baby's first birthday party on Aug. 11," said Castillo through tears. "Her idol was Marilyn Monroe, so it is kind of ironic that she would die so young."
Chonvill, who is another close friend of Threatt, said she missed the party as well, but confirmed from her friends who were there that the two were playing around.
"LaShawna is a mess, a silly goofball. She likes to play fight and tickle you. They had just gotten in the hotel and were having a good time," Chonvill said. "My friends who were there, said it was so random. They literally just fell out the window. They are two small girls and I am trying to figure out how the hell, two small girls could break a window like that."
In a new statement issued Tuesday, hotel manager Michael O'Donohue said further information about the accident and investigation would have to come from police.
"This was a tragic accident and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of LaShawna Threatt and with her friend, Ciara Williams, for whom we pray for a successful recovery.
"We are taking this horrible accident very, very seriously. Like everyone, it’s hard for us to understand exactly how this happened. In addition to cooperating fully with the police investigation, we are also conducting an internal investigation. At this point, we don’t have information to share as it is early in the process. As you can imagine, until we have assembled and analyzed all of the facts, we don’t want to speculate. Rest assured, the safety and security of our guests and associates is paramount."
Mike DeNiro, the owner of The DeNiro Group, said Threatt often did events for his production company.
"I have been knowing her for years. She was a mom and a good, free-spirited person," said DeNiro, 38. "She was one of the best persons you could ever know."
DeNiro said he was not at the birthday party, and like many of their other friends, has been slowly finding out details of the accident through the news, Twitter and Facebook.
"When I saw it, it crushed me," said DeNiro, adding that he bumped into Threatt and her daughter at the mall last week.
Staff writer Christian Boone contributed to this article.
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