A Florida couple have been arrested on child neglect charges after authorities say their two-year-old son was found walking along a busy highway wearing only a dirty diaper while both parents were passed out from drugs inside their filthy mobile home.
Yajaira Tirado, 28, and Jacob Krueger, 25, were taken into custody in Oak Hill on Monday after their son was rescued by passing motorists from US 1.
On Wednesday, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office released body camera footage showing the moment deputies responded to the scene to find the young boy in the arms of a Good Samaritan who helped save him from being run over by traffic.
The video has gone viral on Facebook, drawing more than 232,000 views as of Thursday afternoon.
Yajaira Tirado, 28, and Jacob Krueger, 25, were arrested on Monday for child neglect
Body camera video released by Volusia County Sheriff’s Office shows the couple’s son in the arms of a Good Samaritan who saved him from being run over on US 1
The two-year-old boy only had a dirty diaper on and was covered in mosquito bites
According to a press release from the agency, a woman was driving southbound on US 1 shortly before 10.30am when she spotted the undressed toddler trying to cross the road in front of her.
The motorist pulled over in the road to block the boy’s path and prevent other vehicles from hitting him.
A postal carrier also stopped to help and was holding the child when deputies responded to the scene.
In the video, one of the deputies says that he where to find the toddler’s parents because of a prior case involving the family that took place last year.
In that incident, which was reported in January 2018, Tirado was charged with child neglect after one of her three children called 911 and responding deputies arrived to find two kids left alone with an aggressive dog in the house, along with unsecured shotgun and ammunition.
A deputy placed the child in the backseat of his patrol car because there were broken beer bottles on the ground
The deputy found the pair passed out and frothing at the mouth. He had to yell and bang on the wall and make the two wake up and come outside
‘I’ve had enough of this, of both of you,’ the deputy tells the pair as he orders Tirado to put her hands behind her back
Krueger could not understand why he was being arrested, telling the deputy that it is not fair
After recognizing Tirado and Krueger’s son from his previous interaction with the family, the deputy headed to the trailer located next to the highway and found the pair passed out and frothing at the mouth, ‘each apparently under the influence of drugs,’ according to the release.
At first, Tirado and Krueger were unresponsive, but they eventually came to after the deputy yelled and banged on the wall to draw their attention.
In the body camera video, both appear dazed and impassive as the deputy tells them their son was close to being ‘smushed by a friggin’ car.’
During the investigation, the deputy placed the child, still wearing a full diaper and covered in mosquito bites, in the backseat of his patrol car because there were broken beer bottles on the ground and several knives within his reach in the yard.
‘The home itself was in poor condition, with trash, dirty clothes and dirty dishes piled up, no separate kids’ room, and only one bed, which was just a mattress with no sheets,’ according to the sheriff’s office. ‘When asked about breakfast, Tirado said the toddler usually “pulls like bread and stuff out by himself.”’
Tirado was arrested in January 2018 (left) on a child neglect charge after one of her three children called 911 and deputies arrived to find two kids left alone with an aggressive dog
‘I’ve had enough of this, of both of you,’ the deputy tells the pair as he orders Tirado to put her hands behind her back and get in the back of his patrol vehicle.
When Krueger asks why they are being arrested, the deputy replies: ‘what do you mean, ‘Why?”‘
Krueger later claimed he and his girlfriend fell asleep after taking pain medications, and that their son got out of the house through a broken door
Krueger continues pressing the deputy, asking him to explain what he had done.
‘What did you do? It’s what about you didn’t do,’ the officer replies, with anger creeping into his voice. ‘You didn’t watch your kid, your kid’s out in the road…this is just a circus.’
Krueger makes a last-ditch effort to defend himself, saying, ‘this is not fair at all.’
‘Yeah, it’s not fair to your son, that’s who it’s not fair to,’ the officer fires back.
The couple’s son was placed in the custody of the state Department of Children and Families.
Tirado and Krueger were booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail on $5,000 bond each.
Following his release from jail, Krueger told WFTV that he and his girlfriend fell asleep after taking pain medications for unspecified condition, and that their son walked out of their home through a broken door.
‘I love my child. I want the best for them,’ he said.