The Brief
- Daycare worker Halee Russo was arrested by Fruitland Park police on charges of child neglect after a child “under her sole care” escaped a playground and ran across the busy six-lane corridor of U.S. 27, police said.
- Drivers pulled over and rescued the child from the highway’s center median before returning the child safely to the facility.
- While Russo initially claimed she chased the child immediately, she later admitted to detectives that she left the group unsupervised for several minutes and alleged that her manager instructed her to lie to investigators.
FRUITLAND PARK, Fla. – A Florida daycare worker is facing a felony child neglect charge after a small child was reportedly seen running across a busy Lake County highway before being rescued by passing drivers.
The Fruitland Park Police Department responded to U.S. Highway 27 and U.S. Highway 441 after receiving a call about a child in the road at around 10:20 a.m. on June 12. Investigators noted that section of U.S. 27 consists of six high-speed traffic lanes with a posted speed limit of 50 mph.
Police worked to learn more about how the child left the daycare and who was responsible for the child’s well-being.
Who reported the child in the road?
What we know:…