It’s a story of alleged child neglect and a miraculous escape. A San Antonio, Texas bus driver was finishing his shift at approximately 12:00 a.m., when he slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting a baby who was sitting in the middle of the street. The incident was caught on the bus’ surveillance video. You may watch the video in the player below.
Via bus driver Mike Hubbard said that at first he couldn’t tell what was moving in the street and thought possibly it was a dog. It wasn’t a dog, but 14-month-old Destiny Flores. The video is highly disturbing as the child is seen wearing only a diaper without any parents or guardians in sight.
“From a distance I can’t tell exactly what it is. It looks like a dog, something moving around, I can’t really tell what it was … I started slowing down and then I noticed it’s a baby in the middle of the street,” Mike Hubbard told WOAI.
Mike Hubbard got out of the bus and was with the child when the father came running out of his home, picked up Destiny, and went back inside. Destiny’s father never said a word to Mike Hubbard who notified authorities. The incident occurred last May, but the case is currently before child protective services. Destiny Flores’ mother, Catherine Gonzales lost temporary custody of her children after the incident. She has since separated from Destiny’s father.
Child Protective Services took the children for several days last month but have since returned the children. Catherine Gonzalez has a court hearing scheduled for next month to determine permanent custody. She says that the incident was nothing more than an accident.
Speaking about the incident to WOAI Catherine Gonzalez said, “We had the door open, but there’s a screen door. I had the lock on it, but I don’t know, maybe I didn’t put it all the way and she just snuck out.”
“It’s not like we weren’t paying attention, you know? I could have sworn all my kids were in the back watching TV and they were doing fine. It was just the biggest accident and it hurts me.”