- April 24, 2024
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A 3-year-old boy was discovered walking in the middle of Palm Coast Parkway on Sept. 23, after he escaped from the Roma Court Academy’s recreation area.
The responding deputy reported that a Chinese food delivery person spotted the child and contacted Roma Court, which started to search for him.
Then, a woman who was driving on Palm Coast Parkway saw the boy and stopped to help him. The deputy arrived and brought him back to Roma Court, safe and sound. The Fire Department also assisted, according to Jim Troiano, of the Sheriff’s Office.
The deputy later discovered that the boy, whose name was withheld, had only been attending the preschool for two days. He had told his teacher more than once that day that he wanted to go and look for his father at the hospital because his father was sick.
Later, the father, Jackie Gentry, of Ormond Beach, was contacted by the Sheriff’s Office, and he said he wasn’t surprised that the boy had escaped. He said the boy was like a raccoon — “very fast and skilled at opening doors and latches,” which he had done at home in the past, as well.
Gentry also told the Sheriff’s Office that he has a friend who works at Roma Court and feels confident that it’s a safe place, with no supervision problems.
Roma Court did not respond to a request for comment before the story was published, but at 4:30 p.m., the administration sent the following statement to the Observer:
"An incident involving a child occurred today at RCA. The child is perfectly fine and unharmed. The appropriate authorities have been notified, and RCA is complying with all obligations under controlling law and rule regarding the incident. RCA is meeting all requirements to report the facts of this incident timely, fully and truthfully to the appropriate authorities. It is important to note that this incident did not arise from any violation of RCA’s duties owed to students, parents or the law. The father of the child has asked that this incident not be further publicized. RCA will honor his wishes."
Troiano said there was no indication from the deputy’s report that Gentry was in the hospital, as opposed to what the child thought. Gentry responded to a phone call from the Observer but declined to comment for this story.
The Sheriff’s Office informed the Department of Children and Families of the incident as a precaution. The deputy also walked the route that was taken by the child and examined the safety procedures at Roma Court.
The teacher who was supervising the rec area was attending to another child when the 3-year-old boy escaped, according to the deputy's account. There is a dead bolt on the sturdy, 6- to 8-foot-tall gate at the recreation area, but the deadbolt was not activated when the deputy checked.
“The outcome could have been much different,” Troiano said. “We could have seen a crash where the child was hit or killed, or he could have gotten lost in the woods. Our thanks go out to this motorist for her quick thinking, as well as the delivery guy. This is the ‘see something, say something’ philosophy. We’re happy that the information provided was, and that we had a peaceful ending to a situation that could have been much worse.”
