Authorities say a 24-year-old daycare worker has been arrested after a 3-month-old in her care suffered a skull fracture at a southeast Austin childcare center. According to police, the infant was dropped on March 16 and staff waited to seek medical help, triggering a criminal investigation.
Primrose School at Easton Park, which offers programming from infant care through pre-K at its Easton Park campus, lists the southeast Austin site on its franchise website. Construction and licensing filings from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation identify the school’s address as 8905 Alphabet Drive in the 78744 ZIP code. The school also maintains a public profile for the location on the Primrose School at Easton Park website.
Allegations and timeline
An arrest affidavit reviewed by CBS Austin states that Leah Marie Stewart told investigators she tripped on the leg of a bouncer chair while carrying the baby on March 16, causing the infant to fall. According to the affidavit, Stewart did not call 911, instead picking the baby up, later allowing the child to nap, and waiting roughly two hours before telling another caregiver what had happened.
The affidavit says the infant did not receive medical care for more than four hours. X-rays taken at Dell Children’s Medical Center showed a fracture on the left side of the baby’s skull, according to the document. Stewart was booked into the Travis County Correctional Complex on March 31 and charged with a second-degree felony count of injury to a child by reckless omission. She is being held on a $10,000 bond, according to the affidavit and station reporting.
Oversight and reporting
In Texas, daycare employees are mandatory reporters and are required to notify authorities if they suspect abuse or neglect. The state directs reporters to call the Texas Abuse Hotline at 1-800-252-5400 or to file a report online…