Child Found Wandering On US-1 Leads To Neglect Charges

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Yaijaira Tirado & Jacob Krueger
(Volusia County Jail)

Oak Hill, FL - A man and a woman are facing charges after a motorist and mail carrier found a toddler crossing US-1 all alone.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office has released body cam video, which you see by clicking here.

And that child was wearing only a dirty diaper with his arms covered in bug bites.

That's the Volusia County Sheriff's Office's report that led to the arrest of 28-year-old Yajaira Tirado and 25-year-old Jacob Krueger earlier today (June 24th).

The report says that a deputy found both Tirado and Krueger passed out in their home off of US-1. Both were unresponsive until a deputy yelled at them and pounded on the wall.

That deputy knew where to find them because of a prior case involving Tirado.

That case took place back in January of 2018, when she was charged with child neglect after a child called 911 and responding deputies found two children left alone with a loose, aggressive dog in the house along with an unsecured shotgun with ammunition.

In today's case, a woman from Titusville reported that she was headed south on US-1 close to 10:30 this morning when she noticed the toddler trying to cross the road in front of her.

She stopped her car in the road to intercept him.

A mail carrier also stopped to help hold the two-year-old boy until deputies arrived.

After recognizing the child, a deputy went to find Tirado and Krueger. That's when they were found passed out in their home, both apparently under the influence of drugs, frothing at the mouth, according to VCSO.

While authorities investigated, the child was placed in the backseat of a deputy's patrol car because there were broken beer bottles on the ground and several knives within the child's reach.

According to deputies, the home itself was found to be in poor condition, with trash, dirty clothes and dishes piled up. There was also no separate kids' room and only one bed, which was just a mattress with no sheet on it.

Deputies also asked how the boy ate breakfast, to which Tirado said the toddler usually "pulls like bread and stuff out by himself."

The toddler was placed into the custody and care of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Both Tirado and Krueger now face child neglect charges, which carries a bond of $5,000 each.

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