COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A man has been arrested after a child he was supposed to be watching was found wandering alone at a Cobb County apartment complex.
Channel 2′s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell was on Atlanta Road Tuesday, where neighbors stopped the child from wandering into the busy road.
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Newell talked to neighbor Kayla Jones, who said she was just in the right place at the right time when she spotted the boy in distress. Neighbors ended up going door-to-door to try to find the child’s parents and finally called police.
“I just remember the officer picking up the kid, he had to be no more than three, maybe four,” Jones said. “I remember the kid kicking screaming crying trying to put him in the car”
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Aguilar Martinez, who was supposed to be babysitting the child while his mother was grocery shopping, has since been arrested and charged with cruelty to children.
People who live and work in the area said they are concerned with how many children they see walking near the road alone.
Lisa Miranda works nearby and said she’s seen an adult get hit by a car on Atlanta Road. She’s also seen kids walking nearby with cars flying by right next to them.
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“Maybe four-, five-, six-year-olds that have been out in the parking lot together or going up and down the sidewalks,” Miranda said. “Kids that in my opinion are too young to be out by themselves alone.”
The child has not been identified. It’s unclear if Martinez is the boy’s father.
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