BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — A Boynton Beach mother has been ordered to have no contact with her three children after police say her 2-year-old son wandered away from home on Mondaywhile his mom was asleep.
25-year-old Nancy Ineus appeared before a Palm Beach County judge on Tuesday morning on a charge of child neglect.
According to her arrest report, Ineus, who works from 6 p.m to 6 a.m., took a nap around 11 a.m. on Monday at her home in the 1200 block of Mahogany Drive.
Police said Ineus told them that when she woke up around 2 p.m., her 2-year-old son was gone.
A driver said she spotted the toddler a couple blocks away, near the busy intersection of N. Congress Avenue and W. Gateway Boulevard. The child was all alone in the middle of the street, the witness said.
"I saw the little boy standing in the middle road going into oncoming traffic, and I was like, oh my God, I need to help him," Kaylee Brewer told WPTV's Michelle Quesada.
Brewer said she immediately made a u-turn, hopped out of her car, grabbed the child, and walked him to safe spot in a nearby plaza and called 911.
"He was scared, he was crying, he had a full diaper," said Brewer. "I just felt so bad for the baby."
Brewer, who has a baby of her own, said the toddler knew his own name, but couldn't say his mother's name.
"I can imagine if that was my kid I would want them to be safe, too," said Brewer. "So I guess my mom instincts just jumped in."
Police said when they interviewed Ineus, she told them that when she woke up from her nap, she saw police cars in the parking lot of her apartment and saw her son sitting in a police car.
According to detectives, Ineus admitted her son got out of the house two weeks prior "without permission or supervision" because a security latch above the front door was broken.
"[Ineus] stated her husband was supposed to fix the latch but never did," her arrest report stated.
"It breaks my heart because I think we need to be more vigilant to our kids because anything can happen in an instant," said Brewer.
In court on Tuesday, a judge said Ineus' three children are now in the care of a relative, and the Department of Children and Families is investigating.
Ineus was released on her own recognizance, which requires her to regularly check in with the court system. She walked out of jail Tuesday afternoon without answering any questions.
🔽 MOM WALKS OUT OF JAIL 🔽
