A Florida daycare worker is accused of failing to properly supervise a young child, allowing the boy to escape and walk across six lanes of a busy highway before concerned motorists intervened to bring him to safety, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Halee Russo, 27, has been charged with child neglect without great bodily harm in connection with the incident that occurred Friday morning on U.S. Highway 27 near County Road 466A in Fruitland Park, Florida.
Background
Fruitland Park Police Department officers began receiving calls from concerned motorists shortly after 11 a.m. reporting they had seen a young boy darting across traffic on the six-lane highway, where the speed limit is 50 mph. Multiple drivers pulled over and worked together to get the child to safety before returning him to the daycare facility unharmed.
Russo, who has worked at the daycare since November 2024, initially provided deputies with a version of events that conflicted with witness accounts, according to the affidavit. She told investigators she typically checks whether the gate from the playground to the parking lot is locked but failed to do so on the day in question.
The Investigation
According to the probable cause affidavit, Russo claimed the boy escaped while she was attending to other children and said a parent discovered him near the front door of the facility. She stated she ran after the child approximately five seconds after he opened the gate and caught up to him by the time the parent stopped him.
When officers confronted Russo with statements from multiple witnesses who observed the boy running across all six lanes of U.S. Highway 27, indicating a significantly longer period during which the child was unaccounted for, she changed her account, the affidavit stated.
Russo became emotional and told investigators she was "just doing what her boss told her," according to the charging documents. She said the last time she saw the boy he was about to go down a slide before she turned her attention to another child who was upset. She estimated she lost track of him for approximately two minutes.
Russo claimed her supervisor instructed her to lie so the daycare would not be closed, according to the affidavit. The name of the daycare facility is redacted from the report.
Officers noted that Russo said the gate was locked, suggesting the boy likely crawled underneath it to escape the playground area.
Key Takeaways
- Halee Russo, 27, is charged with child neglect without great bodily harm in Lake County, Florida
- The young boy escaped from daycare supervision and walked across six lanes of U.S. Highway 27 where the speed limit is 50 mph
- Multiple motorists intervened to protect the child before returning him safely to the daycare
- Russo allegedly provided false statements to police about the timeline of events
- She claimed her supervisor directed her to lie about what happened
- Russo has posted a $2,500 bond from Lake County Jail and is awaiting further court proceedings
What's Next
Russo remains out on bond following her arrest. Her next scheduled court appearance is set for July 6 in Lake County. The investigation was conducted by the Fruitland Park Police Department with support from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.