Girl, 4, reunited with family after falling asleep on bus then wandering streets
Published: November 15, 2005
On her fourth birthday Monday, Monica Diaz learned about the perils of staying up late on a school night.
A motorist and several Miami firefighters found the tot wandering alone near a busy Miami street on Monday afternoon, sparking a whirlwind search for her parents.
For several hours, Miami-Dade Police handed out fliers, knocked on doors and paraded the weeping, lollypop-licking girl in front of television cameras. Bashful and scared, the girl was able to only give her family’s names and hold up four tiny fingers to indicate her age.
“When we find the parents, they’re going to have to answer some serious questions,” Lt. Bill Schwartz warned during a live newscast.
But shortly after lunchtime, police announced it was all a big boo-boo.
According to police, Monica was last seen boarding her school bus at about 7:45 a.m. Monday, on her way to her day-care center. But apparently Monica fell asleep inside the bus and the driver didn’t see the child when she parked the bus at a lot near the school. The girl somehow managed to unlock herself from the bus and went for a walk. She was discovered at about 11 a.m., almost three hours later and about a half block from the school bus.
The mother, Dixci Pineda, and the bus driver, Josefina Wilches, separately rushed to the police station after watching the news. The mother explained she let Monica stay up late on Sunday because the girl was too excited about her upcoming birthday.
“She couldn’t sleep,” the mother said. [Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems]
By late Monday, Monica was back at her family’s apartment in time for her birthday party. She seemed unfazed by the morning’s adventure as she colored with her new crayons in her princess crown and slippers.
But as she and her siblings played, it was Monica’s family that was celebrating the most.
“She’s never going to forget this birthday,” grandfather, Herman Pineda, said before pausing. “Neither are we.”
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