Dad tosses daughter out of his car on a heavily traveled roadway just after midnight

August 2, 2024 Gloria Shaw

A Florida father has been jailed after allegedly forcing his 10-year-old daughter out of his car onto a busy road and telling her to walk to her grandparents’ house miles away.

Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez said that 30-year-old Hector Luis Serrano was seen by residents pushing his daughter out of his vehicle on U.S. 192 near Scott Boulevard just after midnight on Tuesday. This area is a bustling tourist spot close to Disney World.

“It’s a very heavily traveled roadway,” Lopez explained. “Very touristy. Pretty dangerous. We get a lot of pedestrians hit by vehicles in that area.”

Concerned residents immediately approached the girl to ensure her safety. Sheriff Lopez mentioned that she was visibly distressed and confused.

“She was distraught at the time,” he said. “She was crying, she was confused. You know, she’s a 10-year-old little girl. It’s after midnight hours and it’s dark. This type of behavior is unacceptable. I don’t know if this guy ever saw the Little Red Riding Hood story. There’s wolves out there and there’s predators out there that prey on children.”

Law enforcement officers quickly located Serrano and arrested him. Serrano reportedly told deputies that the girl’s grandparents, who have custody of her, had threatened to call the police if he didn’t return her to them. “He said ‘You know what, why don’t you walk to your grandparents,'” Lopez recounted.

The walk to the grandparents’ home would have taken about 20 minutes, which Lopez deemed perilous for a young child. “For a 10-year-old girl, it’s dangerous,” he stressed.

Serrano has been charged with child neglect without great bodily harm and is currently being held at the Osceola County Jail on a $2,500 bond. Authorities safely returned the girl to her grandparents’ home.