Toddler found wandering busy Fort Myers street, mom arrested

FORT MYERS, Fla.- A mother is facing child neglect charges after her toddler was found wandering near a busy street, just seconds away from being hit by a car.

Twenty-five-year-old Shaquilla Jordan’s son was spotted making his way toward the roadway on Winkler Avenue and Broadway, near the Edison Mall.

Laura Herndon says she’s still shaken by the sight of the child, believed to be about 2 years old, walking barefoot near the street.

“I immediately ran across the street because there was no one else around,” said Herndon. “So I went over and I took him by the hand, and walked him over to a business there.”

Herndon estimates the boy was seconds away, from stepping into the street.

“It was very nerve-wracking and very upsetting. I just couldn’t believe that someone would leave their baby alone.”

She took the toddler to a nearby dry cleaning business, which happens to be below the apartment where the child lives.

When Fort Myers police arrived and took a look at the home, officials reported the apartment was in disarray, with old diapers strewn about and a smell of urine permeating the air.

Jordan eventually arrived at the home. Police say she told them she had gone to pick up her daughter at a bus stop. The toddler’s grandmother says Jordan mistakenly left the apartment door open.

The Department of Children and Families took custody of Jordan’s two children.