EYEWITNESS EXCLUSIVE Child Found Wandering Huntington Street Alone
Reported by: Darrah Wilcox
Web Producer: Darrah Wilcox
Reported: Mar. 19, 2013 3:53 PM EDT
Updated: Mar. 20, 2013 11:21 AM EDT
EYEWITNESS ONLINE WEBCAST VIDEO C L I C K T O P L A Y
Huntington
, Cabell County
, West Virginia
When a man driving down Fourth Avenue stopped to help what he thought was a stranded driver, he was shocked to find out what was actually going on.
The man didn't want to be identified, but said, "She said her car wasn't broken down, there was a baby out walking in the middle of Fourth Avenue and hardly any clothes on."
Police got the call just before noon Tuesday that a woman found a young child wandering down Fourth Avenue near 26th Street.
The eyewitness said the boy was shivering and his lips were blue. He said he and the woman put a coat on him until police could get there. Those Good Samaritans could have saved the 17-month-old's life.
Huntington Police Cpl C.W. Bradshaw said, "If she hadn't found him, we are within a block of Fifth Avenue, a heavily traveled roadway. As of now, they're doing a large construction project here at the old field house, a lot of trucks backing in and out."
Police found the parents at a second-story apartment nearby. The parents told police they don't know how the baby got out.
The eyewitness said he hopes it serves as a wake-up call to the parents. "It'd be a good thing if it was," he said.
Police said it's a wake-up call for all parents of young children to take a look at their own safety measures at home. "They're anxious. They will try to find their way out," Bradshaw said. "It's good for small children like that to have an extra set of locks on the doors where they cannot reach. Make sure your doors are locked at all times."
The child was returned to his parents. As of right now, no charges are being filed, but the case will be turned over to Child Protective Services for further investigation.
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