A man from Florida has been arrested for abandoning his young daughter on the side of a road in Osceola County and fleeing the scene overnight.
Hector Serrano, Jr., 30, has been taken into custody and is now being held at the Osceola County jail on a charge of child neglect, according to jail records.
In the early hours of the morning, Serrano found himself in a disagreement with his 10-year-old daughter while driving, according to Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez who spoke to FOX 35 News.
“If anybody’s familiar with that area in Kissimmee, it’s a very heavily traveled roadway,” Lopez said. “Very touristy, pretty dangerous. We get a lot of pedestrians hit by vehicles in that area.”
Lopez claimed that Serrano grew angry with her and abruptly abandoned her on Highway 192 near Scotts Boulevard in Kissimmee.
According to him, a group of individuals witnessed a distressing incident where a young girl was forcibly pushed out of a moving vehicle, prompting them to immediately contact emergency services.
“It was later discovered that she was thrown out of the vehicle by her own father because the grandparents were threatening to call law enforcement if he didn’t drop her off. So he basically said, ‘you know what? Get out and walk to your grandparents’ house'”, Lopez said.
The sheriff mentioned that it would have been a walk of more than 20 minutes. He strongly condemned the behavior, deeming it completely unacceptable and deeply shameful.
The young girl was eventually found.
“She was distraught at the time. She was crying, she was confused. She’s a 10-year-old little girl. It’s after midnight hours and it’s dark,” Lopez said.
Lopez wishes for Serrano to receive the necessary assistance and therapy during his time in jail.
Source: Fox-35 Orlando
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