5-Year-Old Takes Car to Search for Mom
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When 5-year-old Ameleah Kegly got off the school bus Monday afternoon, her mom was not there to pick her up.
Ameleah walked herself home to the family’s home in Mansfield, Ohio, but mom Christina Hunter, 31, was not there either.
So the girl waited at home, alone. Three hours later, when her mom had still not arrived, Ameleah took matters into her own hands. She grabbed the keys at about 7 p.m. and got behind the wheel of the family’s black SUV to search for her mom.
She turned the headlights on and put the key in the ignition but, failing to turn the ignition completely on, she rolled the car backward down the driveway, and right into the neighbor’s yard.
ABC News
Realizing the trouble she was in, Ameleah got out of the car and called 911.
“Um, my mom’s car backed out on accident and I need the police to pull my mom’s car back in,” she told the dispatcher. “The car is staying on running now you got to get here quick, my mom is going to be pissed at me.”
“Where is your mom at? Is she in the car,” the dispatcher asked.
“Umm, no, I don’t know where she is at and I’m lost,” Ameleah said. “She gone and I miss her so much.”
“… You’ve spelled your name for me, and you told me your mom’s name, and what has happened, and I am very proud of you Ameleah,” the dispatcher responded, trying to keep the kindergartner calm.
Mansfield police officer Ryan Grimshaw arrived at the family’s home to find Ameleah unharmed, but scared.
“I just found a little girl standing in the doorway by herself on the phone,” he told the Mansfield News Journal. ”She was scared, but she opened up pretty quickly. She said she came home from school and no one was there. She said she had been playing with her two cats and that she was hungry, so I made her some pizza rolls and gave her a juice box. She was pretty happy about that.”
What Ameleah and Grimshaw didn’t know at the time was that the girl’s mother, Hunter, had been taken by ambulance to a local hospital earlier in the day for an undisclosed ailment.
Released from the hospital late Monday, Hunter told officials she had asked Ameleah’s father, Aaron Kegley, 26, to take care of their daughter after school. Kegley says he never received that message.
Mansfield police did not file charges against Hunter or Kegley, but the county’s Department of Children Services is looking into the incident.
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What a precious child. I am glad she’s ok.
Posted by: Julie | October 26, 2011, 1:59 pm 1:59 pm
Thank God she didn’t get hurt and the dispatcher and police officer was trained to assist a child. I could see a miscommunication like this since the mother was ill. Too bad someone at the hospital could not have called the school just in case the father didn’t get the message.
Posted by: Clt | October 26, 2011, 3:20 pm 3:20 pm
Am I the only one wondering why the bus driver let a 5yr old get off the bus without a parent there!?!?!?! Kindergarten children in my area have to have a parent get them from the bus, 5 is too young to be walking home alone.
Posted by: Brandi | October 26, 2011, 6:00 pm 6:00 pm
What a sweet little can-do kinda girl! I’m so proud of her!!
Posted by: AR | October 27, 2011, 1:49 am 1:49 am
Answer for CLT’s question. No, not all schools are like yours. In fact, when my daughter was 5 she had to walk a mile and a half one way to school and back everyday. District buses past my house too but the “rule” is within a mile (as the crow flies) of the school and the kids had to walk. I guess that will change when there is an abduction or worse.
Posted by: Mag | October 27, 2011, 5:41 pm 5:41 pm
I want to have a child like her! Thank God she is fine, and hoping that her mother to recover soon. Proud of her. Love the dispatcher and the police officer.
Posted by: Afourth | November 1, 2011, 12:31 pm 12:31 pm
Oh S^&$ the system is involved now! Get ready for trouble!
For those saying ” I want a child like her!” Yeah, it’s cute now and probably kept her safe. But imagine the rebellious preteen/ teen years! ” No, you may not go to your friends house this weekend you’re in trouble for not cleaning your room.”
three hours later…” HEEEELLLLLLPPP!!! I’m duct tapped to my sink…and it’s running! Heeelp!”
Kid’s hotwired the cat cuz you hid the keys and they’re gone playing “School’s Out for Summer” or “We Don’t Need No Education”
Yeah, you keep on askin for that child.
Posted by: hgrant | November 4, 2011, 10:54 am 10:54 am
prob the dads fault.
Posted by: bobthebuilder | November 6, 2011, 8:48 pm 8:48 pm
Same thing in my area; kindergarteners are not allowed off the bus unless an adult is there to meet them. That actually failed earlier this week, but that’s a different story.
Posted by: A Mom | November 7, 2011, 12:56 am 12:56 am
What a stupid father! Whether he got the mother’s message or not, did he forget he had a 5 year old daughter???? Who did he think was going to take care of her since the mother was in the hospital. I hope that woman is home already, because obviously, that’s father is worthless in the child care arena. sheesh!
Posted by: coco | November 7, 2011, 2:26 am 2:26 am
You can’t automatically go blaming it on the dad. What if they were divorced or something and he was at work and she just decided to leave him a message? If he wasn’t able to get those messages thats not his fault. If it was her time to get the kid, why would he even be thinking about having to pick her up from school?
Posted by: Ash | November 7, 2011, 8:37 am 8:37 am
Wow. This is very interesting. It’s interesting the way a child might reason out ways to solve a problem like this.
Posted by: Erin | November 8, 2011, 9:21 pm 9:21 pm
Everyone has cell phones now and keeps tabs on incoming calls. My guess is he saw who the caller was and did not want to check the message. The mother of that child should have known she couldn’t depend on him.
Posted by: hardamber | November 12, 2011, 6:19 pm 6:19 pm
Considering the mother…I assume, was not able to make any calls, whoever she gave the info to call the girl’s father…possibly should have called the school to tell them, so that she wouldn’t get off the bus and find no one home.
Sounds to me like the father’s just not paying attention to what he should be doing!!!
Posted by: LAdams48 | November 12, 2011, 6:51 pm 6:51 pm
Love how you are all blaming the father. At no point in the story did it say the father was told, just that she left a message for him. Maybe the person who took the message never passed it on and he never realised that the mother was in hospital. How about you know the full story before you judge.
Posted by: GetaGrip | November 13, 2011, 3:29 am 3:29 am
The person at fault here is the mother! Im not sure what was wrong with her but she never should have been okay with just leaving a message! This is your five yr old daughter we are talking about! Im sure there was someone else she could have called to make sure the dad got the message. You dont just leave a message and hope he gets it!!
Posted by: Serina Samples | November 13, 2011, 10:22 am 10:22 am
So many questions. Why didn’t the little girl go to a neighbors house? If shes smart enough to start a car, and call 911, surly she knows how to knock on a door. Unless she wasnt taught to seek the help of an adult in an emergency. (sounds to me like she spends a lot of time by herself) Didn’t anyone think that “hey, a five year old just backed a freaking car into someones yard, maybe I should go see what’s going on” And assist her? Why wasn’t the school, family member or friend informed of the Mother’s situation by police? You would think if emergency personal or police knew she had a child then they would’ve taken necessary precautions to make sure the little girl was safe, or (if she was able,) why didn’t the mother make sure the father got the message or let someone else know. I Hope someone can get to the bottom of all this and I’m glad to hear that the girl and mom are OK. Scary and unbelievable situation.
Posted by: jessica d | November 13, 2011, 4:09 pm 4:09 pm
You figure the dad would of been next of kin to his wife…or the police would notify the husband she at the hospital….?…if that happened or the dad knew she was at the hospital..who else would he think be picking the child up?…if i get a call my husbands at the hospital or i know..and he usaully gets the kids from school…wouldnt you think gee what about the kids?..just wondering
Posted by: kerry osbourne | November 13, 2011, 6:07 pm 6:07 pm
#1 The she should have never gotten off the bus if no parent was there to take her home. Policy SHOULD be to return child to school so she would be in a safe place until things would be figured out.
That would have been the end of the issue if the driver did what they should have done. I think they need to talk to the driver.
What if it was worse? Driver drives off, she’s kidnapped?
I’ve been at it for 16 yrs never did I ever let a kinder go alone, I’ve taken them back to school….
Posted by: Buslady | November 13, 2011, 9:47 pm 9:47 pm
1st off all..to all the people blaming the bus driver, maybe their district doesnt have a parent rule, my district doesnt have any rule regarding parents to be present when dropping off kids and i live in a big city (my daughter has a key and a cell phone for this reason) if the bus driver would have taken her back to the school no one would have known where she was ,2nd never once has my husband been notified when im taken to the hospital by squad (not the emt’s or hospital responsibility) she should have called and personally talked to him, 3rd the dad probably was at work, if a secratary took a message and forgot to give it to him he would have never known to go get his daughter, after all he though mom was getting her off the bus…the proper authorities have been notified and will sort it all out so everyone should stop playing the blame game.
Posted by: jenne | November 14, 2011, 1:54 am 1:54 am
Anyone blaming the dad is a goddamn idiot. He obviously did not get the message sent to him informing him that his wife was in the hospital and that he needed to go pick up his child; so why the hell would he think that his wife might not be there to pick the daughter up?
So if any of you had a child that was constantly picked up by your partner, would the thought that your partner might be in the hospital and that you have to go pick up your child randomly pop up into your idiot head? No. Get your heads out of your righteous asses.
Posted by: Anonymous. | November 14, 2011, 7:49 am 7:49 am
OK, there are a few assumptions going on here. First, The mother and father have different last names and nowhere in the story does it say they are or were ever married. As for the bus letting her off, be glad there was a school bus. When I went to Detroit Schools they didn’t even have a bus program. Kindergartners had to ride the city bus to get to school. If the parents were poor enough to get food stamps, then the school provided bus tickets. As for the child asking for help from a neighbor, there are many places where people never speak to their neighbors, and the children are taught never ever go into someone else’s house. Period. It is so bad that even selling girl scout cookies is discouraged. As for cell phones, there are still a whole lot of people that can’t afford them. The person who was put in charge with contacting someone should have called the school and let them burn up the phone until someone retrieved that child, either dad or cps.
Posted by: Allie | November 14, 2011, 8:43 am 8:43 am
thank god she did’nt roll into traffic or a canal. would’ve been heartbreaking if such a sweet little girl got hurt. a reminder to parents keep car keys and other dangerous items out of a child’s reach make aside from 911 make a list of emergency numbers that the child can easily see in case something is wrong. young children should know the numbers of a parent, relative, or family friend. or know of a neighbor to go to in case of emergency. do drills every once in a while to imprint it in their minds.
Posted by: warren | November 14, 2011, 2:21 pm 2:21 pm