FRUITLAND PARK, Fla. – A daycare worker is facing a charge of child neglect after a driver found a child who wandered away from the facility and onto a busy highway.
Halee Russo, 27, was arrested on June 12 when Fruitland Park Police said a child under her direct care was able to slip away.
The incident happened at the Luv-N-Hugs Learning Center, located on Fountain Street near U.S. Hwy 27.
According to investigators, multiple drivers saw the child in the road, and one brought them back to the daycare.
According to an arrest affidavit, Russo initially said she was tending to other children on the playground when she saw the gate swing open and ran after the child who was stopped near the front door by another woman.
An officer said he told Russo there were conflicting stories and she changed her statement.
According to the affidavit, Russo then said she lost track of the child for about two minutes when she was informed by someone else that the child made it out of the gate.
Russo said she confirmed the gate was locked and the child likely crawled under the gate through a gap.
Russo told the officer her boss said to lie so the daycare wouldn’t be closed, the affidavit stated.
According to state records, Luv-N-Hugs was found in non-compliance in April for inadequate supervision.
The Department of Children and Families visited the facility again on June 12 in response to the incident.
Russo was released from jail on a $2,500 bond and has an arraignment scheduled for July 6.