HORN LAKE, Miss. — “My heart dropped,” said Jamie Dandridge, mother of a 7-year-old little girl. She wants to share a message for parents whose kids ride day care vans.
“Parents should push harder to find out what procedures are and make sure it’s being done,” said Dandridge.
That after the mom showed up at Kids Learning Academy on Highway 51 in Horn Lake to pick up her 7-year-old daughter Wednesday.
“When I got to the daycare I was looking for her, and they said she wasn’t there,” said Dandridge.
The mom knew the daycare picked up the 7-year-old every day from Horn Lake Elementary.
“One of the kids said she was on the bus. He said she was asleep. When he said that I dropped everything, and I walked out to the bus, and she was out there trying to get my attention. She had been crying, and she had an accident on herself,” said Dandridge.
The mom said the little girl had been left in the van for an hour.
She said daycare workers started apologizing saying they were short-staffed and people who usually double check the van were off.
Once Dandridge got her 7-year-old home and calm, she went to the Horn Lake Police Department and filed a report.
Police told WREG she also has another option.
“If she wishes to pursue charges she can for child neglect. It is available to her at any time,” said Horn Lake Police Sgt. Nikki Lanphere.
Back at the daycare, we tried to get answers, but no one was talking, saying they knew nothing about the incident.
They quickly told us to leave their property.
Dandridge said she has left for good and won’t be taking her child back.
“I can’t take those kind of chances on my baby’s life. I can’t let them mess up again,” said Dandridge.
Dandridge said the owner of the daycare called her and told her nothing like this has happened before.
We called the State of Mississippi for reports and the rating for Kids Learning Academy on Highway 51.
They said we must complete a public records request and getting the information could take up to 7 days.
