A school bus stopped in the roadway after an unsupervised toddler wandered away from home and into the path of traffic, where the child was reportedly nearly struck by a vehicle.
The situation took another turn when deputies arrived to investigate and discovered the child’s mother had an active arrest warrant.
According to a Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office report, deputies were dispatched for a well-being check after receiving a report of a toddler in the roadway.
A school bus traveling through the area stopped, and personnel stayed with the child while attempting to find or contact a parent. Before deputies arrived, a parent came outside and retrieved the toddler.
Deputies spoke with the child’s mother, Payton Mabry, who said she had been preparing to take a shower and did not realize her child had gotten out of the house.
Another woman at the residence told deputies she had been asleep when the child wandered away.
The deputy noted that the home sits close to the road but has a fenced front yard with gates. According to the report, the toddler would have had to get through the front door and then open a gate before reaching the roadway.
Because of those steps, the deputy said it appeared the toddler had been outside unsupervised for some period of time before being discovered.
Mabry was informed that the incident would be referred to Child Protective Services for review.
Then deputies discovered another problem.
A check of Mabry’s information showed an active warrant for her arrest. She was taken into custody and transported to the Lawrence County Jail.
The toddler was released into the care of a grandmother.
The sheriff’s office documented the incident and referred the circumstances surrounding the child’s unsupervised trip into the roadway to CPS for further review.
