Photo Courtesy of Stephanie Martinez
A Florida mother is suing a daycare after the woman’s toddler was left alone and locked inside after the school was closed.
According to Local 10 News, Stephanie Martinez arrived at KinderCare in Plantation, Florida, at roughly 6:30 pm on Feb. 15 to pick up her two-year-old daughter, Anastasia Braithwaite. Upon arriving at KinderCare, Martinez discovered her baby girl frightened, crying and alone in the dark. The news outlet reported that the assistant director and a teacher had locked the school up at 6:20 pm. Police arrived shortly after.
“I started knocking. I banged on every window. I couldn’t see anything because everything was dark,” the shaken mother said. “And finally, I heard her, and she popped on the little window, on the little door, and I lost it,” Martinez said.
The Plantation Police and Fire Departments finally freed little Anastasia by prying the door open at around 7 pm.
Assistant Director Nichole Burrillo and Lucilena Viggiano, the teacher, implicated in the report, told police that they checked the school for children and thought it was clear. They locked and left the premises. The school’s hours are from 6:30 am – 6:00 pm.
The school never called Martinez, although she hadn’t arrived.
One parent told Local 10 News that they hadn’t experienced any issues with the KinderCare location.
“They do a good job; they have raised the whole neighborhood.”
Martinez’s attorney, Mark DiCowden, released a statement Friday regarding the horrifying incident.
“We are outraged that KinderCare endangered the life of a child by not observing any safety protocols that led to a two-year-old being abandoned and locked inside a darkened facility. Making the whole situation worse was that Ms. Martinez was forced in horror to witness her child in peril, and it was not until law enforcement and the fire department were called that the toddler was then extricated through extreme measures.”
DiCowden continued, “The entire event could’ve been avoided if KinderCare did not abandon their responsibilities and the toddler. What adds insult to injury is that nobody at KinderCare bothered to answer the phone in this emergency situation. They failed to apologize for their bad behavior. They failed to provide anything but a bad excuse for what happened. We will be filing a lawsuit to provide justice through the court system and to ensure that nothing like this happens to another child.”
KinderCare released a statement regarding the incident.
“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 company told People Magazine.
“We take all concerns about children’s safety seriously and follow a specific protocol anytime an issue is raised,” they added, in part. “Part of that protocol includes notifying our agency partners, like state licensing and Child Protective Services, as we did in this case. We also placed the staff members involved on administrative leave while we, and our agency partners, look into the concern further.”