DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A child was found wandering alone near a busy road, covered in flies and wearing nothing but a dirty diaper Thursday morning, according to the Daytona Beach Police Department.
Police said a witness found the child running down Orange Avenue around 8 a.m. and recognized the boy because he's wandered alone through the neighborhood before. Two witnesses had to stop the child from going into the street, where he possibly could have been hit by a car since there's significant traffic in the area, according to the report.
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Authorities said the boy, whose age wasn't released, had feces in his diaper and flies buzzing around him and crawling up and down his legs.
When the witness returned the boy to his mother, 39-year-old Raquel Mays, police said Mays threatened to "beat her (expletive)." Mays hit the witness in the head as officers were investigation, according to the report.
Mays told officers that her child has wandered off before so she installed a new lock on her door, but she didn't lock the door that morning after her husband left for work because she was asleep, records show.
The child was uninjured and appeared to be in good health.
Mays was arrested on charges of child neglect and battery.