Caught on camera: Toddler escapes Hendersonville daycare with employees in same room
Police reports said the child ended up next door at Yokohama Japanese Grill where worker Michelle Chen found him in the parking lot around lunchtime.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - It’s a terrifying feeling for any mom, but one Hendersonville mother got a call from police saying her kid somehow escaped daycare.
This happened last week on one of the hottest days of the year.
From the outside of Robin’s Nest Academy of Academic Excellence off New Shackle Island Road, it looks secure. But in a video obtained by WSMV4, that is not the case.
In the video, an employee is standing by the front door along with a child. As she steps away, that toddler slips out the door and walks away.
Police reports said the child ended up next door at Yokohama Japanese Grill where worker Michelle Chen found him in the parking lot around lunchtime.
“What happens is that kid comes here for the first time all by himself,” she said. “He tries to open that door like he comes here before, but it’s his first time here.”
Since it was one of the hottest days, Chen said she brought him inside and asked where his parents were. He pointed at the car wash next door.
“So, I brought him out here, but none of the people were his mom, so I called the cops,” she added.
The Department of Human Services said Robin’s Nest had about a dozen violations in the last two years. WSMV4 asked why they are still open.
DHS declined an interview and never answered WSMV4′s question by the time the story was posted.
A dozen violations show the staff was on their phones, found food uncovered with flies, and an incident where an employee disciplined a child and ended up dislocating their elbow.
We also found another violation after a different three-year-old was left unattended in a hallway during a restroom break.
This time, Chen said she was grateful she found the three-year-old before it got worse.
“That kid could have gotten anything,” she said. “He could have gotten heat stroke, or maybe sunburn. Or if he’s unlucky he may have gotten hit by a car.”
WSMV4 reached out to Robin’s Nest who declined to comment.
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