ALLEN, Texas — The mother of a 2-year-old boy has filed a lawsuit against Safari Kid Allen, accusing the daycare center of neglect that allegedly put her son's life in danger in March 2023.
The daycare is located on West McDermott Drive in Allen.
According to the complaint, the toddler was not properly supervised by caregivers, enabling him to walk out of the facility, wander across a parking lot, and end up near a busy road before a good Samaritan, who was a Kwik Kar employee, found him.
Daycare workers only realized the child was missing when officers asked them to do a head count, according to the lawsuit.
“I am so angry that Safari Kid Allen did not do their job to watch my son and then had no idea he was missing, even when asked by law enforcement,” said Miriah Mattos. “It is horrifying to think about what would have happened to him if that kind person did not stop and rescue him.”
The lawsuit filed in Collin County District Court detailed how the officer walked through Safari Kid Allen and discovered there were numerous ways the boy could have exited the center.
Mattos' attorney, Russell Button, claims in the lawsuit that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission cited the daycare numerous times for safety violations from September 2019 to November 2023.
Button says the family is asking for millions of dollars in damages.
"Longlasting psychological trauma that requires outside resources and time to heal and that's what this family is working through and going through right now." said Button. "The mom felt betrayed, as she should, when you trust a daycare that you pay to take care of your kid to keep them safe."
WFAA reached out to the daycare and its parent company Friday for a response to the lawsuit, but we have not heard back.
For parents wanting to take a closer look at the compliance history of this daycare or other daycares across the state, you can find that information here.