PLANTATION, Fla. — A woman called police after she found her young daughter alone, locked in a dark day care center in Plantation, Florida.
The mother, identified as Stephanie Martinez, called 911 on Tuesday when she saw her 2-year-old daughter through the front door window sitting in the dark and realized the child was locked inside, WPLG reported.
Martinez told WSVN she didn’t understand why her daughter was left behind. “They know I get here around 6, 6:15, because I have to pick up my other son by 6. I get here, everything’s shut off, no cars, which is weird.”
Martinez started banging on windows to try to find help. “Finally I heard something. [My daughter] managed to push a chair next to the door to stand on it and call for my name, and that was the only reason 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.
The Plantation Fire Department responded and was able to pry the building’s doors open, WTVJ reported.
KinderCare, which owns the day care, sent a statement to WPLG saying, “At KinderCare, nothing is more important to us than the safety of the children in our care. While we’re thankful the child was quickly found and was safe, this incident should not have happened.” The statement further said the teachers and staff at the KinderCare in Plantation would be retrained on proper child supervision and get additional training on child care best practices.
The police incident report, obtained by WFOR, says the last two people in the building were the assistant director and a teacher, who both left at 6:20 p.m. Martinez arrived eight minutes later, and said she never received a call from the school to pick up her daughter, WFOR reported.
The day care closes at 6 p.m., but usually stays open for parents who pick up their children late, WTVJ reported.
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