A 27-year-old daycare employee in Fruitland Park faces child neglect charges after a boy in her care escaped and crossed a busy highway. Motorists intervened to return the child unharmed.
Halee Russo was arrested Friday after witnesses reported seeing the boy dart across U.S. Highway 27 near County Road 466A. The speed limit there is 50 mph. Drivers stopped, secured the child, and alerted the Fruitland Park Police Department shortly after 11 a.m.
Russo told investigators she lost track of the boy for about two minutes while attending to another child. She admitted failing to check if the playground gate was locked and said she ran after him only after he had already left the area. Officers noted that witness accounts indicated a longer period of unsupervised time.
Russo claimed her boss instructed her to lie about the incident. She has worked at the daycare since November 2024. She was booked into the Lake County Jail on a charge of child neglect without great bodily harm and later posted a $2,500 bond.
Her next court appearance is scheduled for July 6.