A worker at a Fruitland Park daycare was arrested on a felony child neglect charge after a toddler escaped the facility and was found wandering in the median of a busy highway.
Halee K. Russo, 27, of Howey-in-the-Hills, was taken into custody Friday morning by the Fruitland Park Police Department.
According to an arrest affidavit, officers responded to the Luv N Hugs daycare center near the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 27/441 and County Road 466A after receiving reports of a small child running across the highway. The roadway at that location features six lanes with a posted speed limit of 50 mph.
A witness told police he was traveling northbound when he spotted the child and immediately made a U-turn. Two other motorists had also pulled over, and a female passerby was able to safely retrieve the child from the center median. Recognizing the daycare was in close proximity, the passerby returned the child to the facility.
When officers initially questioned Russo, she claimed she was taking the children outside to play and a child pushed the gate open, but she alleged the toddler was stopped near the front door.
After officers informed Russo that her story directly conflicted with witness statements confirming the child had made it into the highway median, Russo became emotional and admitted she was “just doing what her boss told her.”
Russo confessed she had turned her attention to an upset child for approximately two minutes, during which time the toddler likely crawled under a gap in the playground gate. She told officers her boss instructed her to lie about the severity of the escape so the Fruitland Park daycare “wouldn’t be closed.”
Russo confirmed the child was solely in her care and admitted she failed to provide adequate supervision.
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) was contacted to conduct an immediate investigation. Russo was transported to the Lake County Jail and booked on a felony charge of child neglect. She was released after posting $2,500 bond.