A family is thankful an observant San Antonio bus driver spotted their infant sitting in the middle of a busy street, but is now fighting to keep custody of their three children.
Just after midnight one day last May, driver Mike Hubbard spotted something along the traditionally busy street of South Flores near Lorraine on the city's south side.
"I was definitely in shock," said Hubbard. "From a distance I can't tell exactly what it is. It looks like a dog, something moving around, I can't really tell what it was. I started slowing down and then I noticed it's a baby in the middle of the street."
Hubbard stopped the bus and walked over to the child.
"To me he looked like he was eight months old with a pamper, just sitting there. I couldn't tell if he was eating something or not. But, his eyes got real big when he saw the big old bus in front of him."
The child's father, who apparently realized the infant was missing, comes running out of the house and into the street. Without saying a word, he scoops up the baby and returns to his home.
Wanting to know more about how the child ended up in the middle of the road, WOAI-TV's Brian Collister went to visit the family.
Collister learned that the child, Destiny Flores, now 2-years-old, is just fine and that her mother, 25-year-old Catherine Gonzalez, is in a fight to retain custody of all three of her children.
Gonzales said she and her husband were in the living room when they heard the bus's brakes and horn and they had no idea how Destiny got out that night.
"We had the door open, but there's a screen door. I had the lock on it, but I don't know, maybe I didn't put it all the way and she just snuck out. I really can't even tell you," said Gonzalez.
VIA, San Antonio's public transportation system, reported the incident to Child Protective Services who has since been investigating the family and have found other areas of concern.
Gonzales denies there are any problems in their household.
"It was an accident, that's all it was. It could happen to anybody in the world, you know? It was just an accident, that's all it was. It's not like we weren't paying attention, you know? I could have swore all my kids were in the back watching TV and they were doing fine. It was just the biggest accident and it hurts me," said Gonzalez.
But what bothers Gonzales even more is the thought of what might have happened.
"I'm glad the bus driver, you know, saw her and actually stopped," Gonzalez said.
The custody of the children will be determined at a hearing in a few weeks.
