Fort Worth Daycare Sued After Toddler Wandered Into Traffic

The family’s lawsuit says the child left BeYOUtiful Beginnings and was found in the middle of Parkwood Hill Boulevard. Fort Worth police responded at about 10:50 a.m. after two passersby called for help. The suit says the child was dehydrated, and outdoor temperatures exceeded 100 degrees that day.

Police determined that daycare workers did not know the child had left, according to a police report described in the lawsuit. Staff told officers their outdoor-play safeguards included head counts, matching children’s names to faces and using a rope with Velcro wrist straps. The lawsuit alleges those measures were not used. One worker reportedly said children could get free of the straps and that she was overwhelmed and had not noticed the child leave. The owner told police the daycare had no outdoor cameras.

Texas Health and Human Services issued the daycare five citations related to supervision and caregiver responsibilities. The citations said the child was alone for between 14 and 29 minutes. The daycare subsequently introduced a face-to-name sheet process, the citations said.

Russell T. Button, the family’s lawyer, said the child appeared close to heat exhaustion when found. He said he did not know whether the daycare had made staffing changes after the incident. BeYOUtiful Beginnings had not responded to a request for comment on the lawsuit as of November 9, 2026.