PORT ORANGE, Fla. – Port Orange police say a 4-year-old boy was struck by a car on Friday while crossing U.S. 1 without his parents knowing.
The incident occurred Friday morning at the intersection of Dunlawton Avenue and U.S. 1.
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Police said the boy was staying with his parents at the Dawn to Dusk Motel on U.S. 1 when he sneaked away from his parents and crossed the road.
The boy was unsupervised on the west side of Ridgewood Avenue, going in and out of the roadway, according to police.
At one point, police said the boy ran eastbound on the avenue directly into the path of a 1990 Jaguar operated by 18-year-old Brandon Fanizzi of South Daytona, who was traveling southbound on Ridgewood Avenue in the inside left lane.
Fanizzi told Port Orange police he attempted to avoid striking the boy, but the front of his car struck the child.
Police said the boy was taken to Halifax Hospital with a broken leg and lacerations.
Upon further investigation into the child being unsupervised, police said officers located the boy's mother, 22-year-old Kayla Geraty, inside a room at the motel.
Geraty told police she was unaware her son had left the room. She went to the hospital along with her son.
The Department of Children's and Family services was contacted and made aware of the incident, according to police. The 4-year-old boy is the only child belonging to Geraty.
Charges have been filed against Geraty for child neglect.
Fanizzi was not injured in the incident. Police said he was not charged with regard to the accident.