Local parents are asking how it was allowed to happen and staff of a Folsom child care facility are working to make sure it never happens again after a five-year-old boy was reportedly left strapped into a school transport vehicle for nearly two hours.
Jennifer and Colin Tracey are just now sharing their story with multiple media outlets in hopes it will bring changes in procedures after their son Connor was victim to the incident that occurred at Folsom’s Lexington Hills KinderCare last month.
According to the Tracey’s, the child care center transports Connor to and from his school for afternoon kindergarten. When Connor was nowhere in sight on the afternoon of March 20, it was discovered he had been left strapped into his seat for nearly two hours.
“He was tired; he was hungry; he was thirsty,” the boy’s mother stated, also sharing he suffers from a condition known as cyclical vomiting syndrome disorder, which was cause even further concern. “He was just hysterically crying when he was found. He could have easily, easily died in that bus.”
Since the incident and the media attention the family has garnered, KinderCare released a statement, stating that the employee responsible for the in incident was released after failing to follow safety protocols.
“Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the children in our care. We’re relieved and grateful that the child wasn’t hurt. However, we have strict safety protocols, specific to bus safety, that should have prevented this kind of situation. Unfortunately, those protocols were not followed. As a result, the staff member involved is no longer a KinderCare employee,” reads the official statement.
Despite the termination of the responsible employee, the Lacey’s have since removed their son from the care facility. They have since gone public with sharing the details of their experience in hopes it helps prevent such an incident in the future. The incident has also been reported to the state licensing body.
“I never want this to happen to another child again. I never want a family or a parent to feel the way I’m feeling or my husband is feeling.”
