Columbus police are investigating an incident in which a 3-year-old was reportedly left alone inside a hot van Thursday for nearly an hour.
Diamond Burnett said her son, who attends Lisa’s Christian Learning Center, was driven in the van to the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library on Thursday for Storytime with Mother Goose. When all the children got off the van, however, Burnett said her son was left behind for 45 minutes.
“This is a very serious matter. My son could have died,” Burnett told The Dispatch on Friday. “It was 75 degrees outside. Just imagine how hot it was inside of that hot van. I want accountability (and) for people to be aware of things like this.”
Columbus Police Department Public Information Officer Bryan Moore confirmed an officer responded to the scene and that the department is investigating the incident.
Moore said a library patron had stepped into the parking lot to take a phone call when they heard a child crying inside the van. The patron then informed a library staffer who called police, he said.
Burnett said she took her son to the emergency room, but aside from some distress, he was fine. She also posted on Facebook about the incident.
For previous field trips, like to the Tupelo Zoo, Burnett said the day care had previously asked her to sign a permission slip. But for Thursday’s trip to the library, Burnett said she never received one.
“Whether you want to get off the bus or not, whether he was asleep, you’re still supposed to account for each child,” she said. “But my thing is, I never even gave … consent to even take my child from the school. I never knew my child was away from the school.”
Lisa Stevenson, owner of Lisa’s Christian Learning Center, told The Dispatch she wasn’t at the library the day of the alleged incident. While she refuted Burnett’s allegation, she did not want to comment further due to the pending investigation.
“I’ve seen the post too, and a lot of the stuff she has in it is not correct,” Stevenson said.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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