Inset: Halee Russo (Lake County Jail). Background: U.S. Highway 27 near County Road 466A in Fruitland Park, Florida (Google Maps).
A childcare worker in Florida is facing allegations of inadequate supervision after a toddler managed to slip away and dash across a busy highway, narrowly escaping a collision with a vehicle.
Halee Russo, 27, has been charged with child neglect without causing significant harm. Motorists began reaching out to the Fruitland Park Police Department soon after 11 a.m. on Friday, reporting the sight of a child sprinting through traffic on U.S. Highway 27 near County Road 466A, where the speed limit is 50 mph, as detailed in a probable cause affidavit. Concerned drivers intervened, successfully rescuing the child and safely returning him to the daycare.
Russo informed deputies that she usually ensures the gate from the playground to the parking lot is secured, but this step was overlooked on the incident day, according to police. Initially, she claimed the boy slipped away while she attended to other children, and a parent found him near the entrance. Russo asserted she pursued the child within five seconds of him opening the gate and reached him just as a parent stopped him.
However, officers presented witness statements that contradicted her account, revealing the child had indeed crossed the highway, indicating a more extended period when he was unsupervised. Russo, who has been employed at the daycare since November 2024, reportedly became emotional and mentioned she was simply following her supervisor’s instructions, according to the affidavit.
Russo recounted that she last saw the boy as he prepared to go down a slide but shifted her focus to console a distressed child. She estimated she lost sight of him for about two minutes. Russo alleged her supervisor advised her to fabricate details to prevent the daycare from shutting down. The daycare’s name was omitted from the report.
The teacher said the gate was locked, so the boy likely crawled underneath it to escape.
“The defendant confirmed the juvenile was solely in her care and she was not providing the juvenile with adequate supervision, putting the well-being of the juvenile at risk,” cops wrote.
Officers arrested Russo and took her to the Lake County Jail, where she has since posted a $2,500 bond. Her next court date is set for July 6.