Lewisville 4-Year-Old Left in Day Care Van for 7 Hours

A Lewisville day care is accused of leaving a 4-year-old girl buckled in a car seat in a locked van on Wednesday.

Johnna Fields' mother said Little Servant Christian Academy left her in a van from 10:30 a.m. to 5:20 p.m.

"I was just upset and sad over the whole thing," said her mother, Stephanie Barber. "I have a vision of her in my head of her being trapped in the van."

Lewisville police and Child Protective Services are investigating the incident. Police say felony child endangerment charges could be filed against whoever was responsible for leaving the girl in the vehicle.

Barber said her daughter was found after she arrived to pick her up. Employees were surprised to see her, telling her Johnna had not been there, Barber said.

She thought her daughter had been kidnapped, but then someone came over and said they had found Johnna in the van.

"She wanted me to hold her," Barber said. "She wasn't saying much. She was probably in shock, too."

Barber and the girl's grandparents said the Little Servant Christian Academy is taking the incident very seriously, but nothing can make them feel better at the moment.

"She sit in that car seat for seven hours -- seven hours in one spot; no lunch; no water; nothing," said Johnna's grandfather, Lonnie Barber.

"This should not happen," he said. "We hear this all the time of a child being left in vans -- they go on trips and come back, and all the kids are not taken. Why? Why don't they have a procedure for them to go through -- the driver, the teachers, the workers? Why? These are precious cargo in those van. Someone's got to step up. Something's got to be done."

Lonnie Barber said he can't help but think of close summer is and how he wouldn't have his granddaughter if it had been hot Wednesday.

"Something's got to get done, and somebody's got to be held accountable for this," he said. "This is uncalled for, totally uncalled for."

The Barbers said Little Servant Christian Academy told them the driver/teacher had been fired.

Will Langstaff Jr., the pastor, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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