BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB/Gray News) – A mother was arrested after her 4-year-old was hit by a car while wandering the streets after “one of many” escapes from their home.
Shannon Moore, 28, was arrested Wednesday afternoon for improper supervision by a parent and child desertion in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Officers were dispatched to Florida Boulevard on Friday in response to a 4-year-old boy wandering the middle of the street. Responding officers patrolled the area but could not find the child. Minutes later, an officer was flagged down by a driver who hit a small boy who ran in front of her vehicle, according to arrest documents.
The child was conscious and stable when he was taken to the hospital for a skull fracture, broken femur and several lacerations to his head and body, according to arrest documents.
Authorities contacted the boy’s mother while he was being treated for his injuries.
During their investigation, it was revealed that the day before the boy was hit, an officer responded to Wooddale Boulevard in response to a boy wandering the streets. Documents state police found the mother was standing in a parking lot with an unidentified person. The mother told police that the child had escaped multiple times and the lock was broken. She said the child could open the door to the apartment and exit through the fenced area.
Department of Children and Family Services was contacted to help in the investigation.
According to arrest documents, the mother initially told police the child opened the sliding door and ran out of the apartment. The mother said she gave a “chase” but could not catch him. She told police she waited 30 minutes until she contacted law enforcement for assistance. Officers also reported observing the child’s diaper appeared to have not been changed in days.
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