A mom was forced to dial 911 after she arrived at her daughter’s daycare and no one was there. According to Fox 13, Stephanie Martinez went to pick her daughter up from daycare on February 14 only to find her locked inside and all alone.
When Martinez arrived, her 2-year-old daughter was inside a dark room, crying, and unable to get out. The mom says she wasn’t late and that the daycare is aware of the time she usually picks up her daughter.
All Alone: Mom Says 2-Year-Old Daughter Is Traumatized After Being Locked in Dark Daycare
“They know I get here around 6, 6:15 because I have to pick up my other son by 6,” she said, according to Fox 13. “I get here, everything’s shut off, no cars, which is weird.”
At first, Martinez admitted she thought maybe another family member picked her daughter up. She called her daughter’s aunt, Samantha Scaramellino to see if she did, and as Scaramellino admits her heart dropped at Martinez’s question.
“She was like, ‘Do you know where Anna is?’ I’m like, ‘no.’ She’s like, ‘I’m at the school, no one’s here,’” Scaramellio said. “My heart dropped.”
Scaramellino told Martinez to start knocking to see if anyone responds. As she started to bang on the doors and windows that’s when Martinez saw her daughter peering through one of the windows looking at her.
“She managed to push a chair next to the door to stand on it and call for my name, and that was the only reason that I was able to see her, is because she’s shorter than the door. She got on the chair to say, ‘Mommy,’” Martinez told WSVN.
Soon after calling 911, first responders forced open the door and let the 2-year-old out. Now the teachers involved have been put on administrative leave.
“As these investigations take place, we’ll also take immediate steps to ensure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” a statement made by the daycare said. “They’ll also receive additional training on child care best practices as part of the curriculum we already had planned for all teachers and staff at our centers across the country for Professional Development Day on Monday.”
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Further, the daycare claimed the incident happened because they were short-staffed. But Martinez says that is “not an excuse. This is a child.”
“What if she fell off the table? You know she used a chair to get by the door. Like, she’s traumatized. Last night I couldn’t turn off the light; she started crying.” Police are still investigating what went wrong.
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