HOUSTON – A video captured the shocking moments by a woman who found a preschooler walking alone near a busy highway Monday and the school -- had no idea he was missing.
Rosalin Brawley told KPRC 2 reporter Corley Peel that she was driving when she saw the young boy walking in a busy parking lot near S. Main Street and US 90A in southwest Houston.
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“I got pretty much right to the edge of the parking lot and he was out in the main road,” Brawley said.
She spoke with KPRC 2 about the frightening encounter.
Brawley immediately pumped her brakes after finding the boy in the middle of the feeder road off US 90A after 9:30 a.m.
“He just stood there waving his hands,” she said.
Brawley said she put the boy in her car and pulled out her camera, which captured their conversation.
“What were you doing out here by yourself?” Brawley asked the boy.
“I’m running on the feeder!” the boy exclaimed.
When Brawley asked him why he was running on the feeder road, the boy told her he was looking at the cars. She then called the police -- but they reportedly never showed up.
“They never showed. After 20 minutes, he was trying to get out of the car. I noticed on his shirt it said ‘Imani School,’” Brawley said.
She realized the school was only about 300 feet away and decided to take him back.
Brawley said she walked right into the school by opening an unlocked door. She told the employees in the office what happened.
School didn’t know child was missing
“I almost hit this baby, I almost killed this baby, how did he get out this school?” Brawley asked on camera. “The director came out and said ‘Who is this kid and where did he come from?’”
She asked if the school knew if the boy was missing.
“They didn’t even know until one of the ladies got the directory,” Brawley said.
She then recorded her conversation with an employee.
“We failed today, you see this door?” the employee said in the conversation.
Brawley took a video of an employee showing an issue with the front door.
“Obviously this isn’t working because normally you can’t open that door like that. See, push to exit. So we got to fix this,” the employee said.
Similar incidents at school reported
KPRC 2 spoke with an anonymous employee who said similar incidents have happened recently.
“Just last week, one of the students, an older student, was left after school. As I was leaving the school, I noticed that he just went outside, and I asked him are your parents here to pick you up? He said no, I just wanted to come outside. He was supposed to be attended by a teacher,” the employee said.
“It really hits bad because I have a little grandson that is autistic. I am so shaken up right now because things happen, accidents happen,” Brawley said.
Brawley said she was grateful she was able to get the boy to safety.
KPRC 2 asked the school about the doors being unlocked. Officials said there was not a malfunction at the time and the doors were locked and they have extensive security measures in place.
They say an incident like this has never happened and they have notified parents. Officials add there is an internal investigation.
You can read the full statement below:
“This morning around 9:30 am, an unfortunate and unusual incident occurred with one of our PK3 students. In spite of the extensive security measures in place at our school and after completing an in-class activity, the student was able to leave the classroom initially unnoticed and managed to exit the school and enter the school parking lot. Thankfully, the child was safely returned to the school after a short period of time. The Imani School, which was created in 1988, is a private Christian-based school which offers an excellent education to students from pre-school to 8th grade. Dr. Patricia Williams, director of the school said, “The safety and well-being of all our students remains our utmost priority. After 36 years of operation, this is the only security incident that has ever occurred, and we take it seriously. While this was an isolated incident, we are taking immediate action to review and enhance our security protocols to prevent any similar incidents from happening again in the future.”