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Daycare worker arrested for neglect after child wanders onto busy Lake County highway

Katherine Langford
Katherine Langford
Editor-in-Chief · Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Daycare worker arrested for neglect after child wanders onto busy Lake County highway — ClickOrlando Local, Winter Park Community news
Image: ClickOrlando Local

A daycare worker is facing a charge of child neglect after a driver found a child who wandered away from the facility and onto a busy highway.Halee Russo, 27, was arrested on June 12 when Fruitland Park Police said a child under her direct care was able to slip away.The incident happened at the Luv-N-Hugs Learning Center, located on Fountain Street near U.S. Hwy 27.According to investigators, multiple drivers saw the child in the road, and one brought them back to the daycare.According to an arrest affidavit, Russo initially said she was tending to other children on the playground when she saw the gate swing open and ran after the child who was stopped near the front door by another woman.An officer said he told Russo there were conflicting stories and she changed her statement.According to the affidavit, Russo then said she lost track of the child for about two minutes when she was informed by someone else that the child made it out of the gate.Russo said she confirmed the gate was lo

Source: ClickOrlando Local

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