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Young child climbs out of locked playground at Brighton Center, passerby finds him

Center officials said the child escaped by climbing on a piece of play equipment, which tripped a security system. A passerby found the child and returned him.

SAN ANTONIO — A toddler is safe after a scary escape from a north east San Antonio child center.

“On Friday we did have an incident here at Brighton Center where a student used a riding toy to get up on a latch on an emergency exit and exited the playground that he was on,” according to Kim Jefferies, who is the CEO of the Brighton Center.

The facility specializes in care for children with developmental challenges.

Jefferies said “In our 50 year history, no incident of this type has ever happened at the facility and we are deeply apologetic to the family and we are so happy that he is back in their care.”

A San Antonio Police Department report confirms a toddler was able to get out of a high-walled, locked playground on Higgins Road around 11 a.m..

Jefferies said “There was a lapse with this teacher and the supervision in that moment and that's what it took, a moment, for them to reach that latch.

The police report indicates when the child made it to the busy street, a passerby stopped, scooped up the child and returned him to the center.
Jefferies said they are grateful for the help, adding they took immediate steps to correct the issues that led to the situation.

“We have a zero tolerance policy here when it comes to child safety and we have policies about leaving substitutes alone and that's what happened,” Jefferies said, adding “We terminated the teacher that was responsible for the supervision of that child immediately.”

State officials confirm the facility also followed rules and self-reported the incident immediately.

Jefferies said “We reported it to all the licensing entities and we're obviously working to support the family through this process as well.” Jefferies said they also notified the parents of children in the class about the incident.

State child care investigators said they are looking into the matter to make sure the facility is following up with safety changes.

“We are reviewing our policies and procedures even though we are 100% compliant with licensing and city code to see what we can do above and beyond that to ensure that an incident of this type never occurs again.” Jefferies said.

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