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3 Toddlers Found Wandering On Himes Avenue

Paul Lamison / News Channel 8

Tampa Fire Rescue paramedic Chris Bruns, left, and firefighter Cesar Nino talk to the media about finding the three children with other motorists on Himes Ave.

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune
and ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 18, 2007

Updated: 10/18/2007 03:58 pm

Video: WFLA Peter Bernard Report

TAMPA - Three dirty toddlers in diapers were found this morning wandering on Himes Avenue without any adults, police and rescue spokesmen said.

Early indications are the children got out of their house on South Drexel Avenue when there was a miscommunication in their home about who was watching them, and the adult caregivers fell asleep, according to Detective Eric Wilkinson. At this point, Wilkinson said he didn't expect any charges to be filed, but he noted the investigation was continuing.

The toddlers — a girl, 1, and two boys , ages 2 and 3 — were on Himes Avenue under the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway when a Tampa Fire Rescue unit that happened to be in the area found them, Capt. Bill Wade said.

Driving north on South Himes Avenue to buy supplies for their fire station, Tampa Fire Rescue paramedic Chris Bruns and firefighter Cesar Nino pulled over upon seeing the children covered in concrete powder with some passers-by. There is a bag of concrete in the back yard of the home.

"They looked kind of like zombies because they were full of dust," he said. "It was caked in their hair."

Motorists had stopped near the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway overpass upon seeing the children playing in the street, Bruns said.

The children were wearing "minimal clothing," Wade said.

The children seemed dazed, Bruns said.

"The children were scared but not crying," Wade said. "They did not talk, just kind of pointed in a general direction when asked where they lived. … Somebody recognized the children and told police where the children lived nearby."

Nino, a father of three children, said he felt "sad and worried" about the youngsters. "I have kids, and I know those kids were lost," he said.

He and Bruns used saline to clean up the children, then transported them to Tampa General Hospital to be examined while police looked for their parents.

"Himes Avenue is a very busy road," Wade said. "There's a lot of traffic, and it's a wide-open road. It's a very dangerous situation for children, let alone children this age."

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