What to Know
- Trimeka Crum, 35, was arrested for allegedly leaving a girl from her day care on a Queens street
- The 5-year-old girl wandered into a bodega, where a worker called police
- The girl was reunited with her guardian, an aunt who called to report her missing Wednesday night
A day care worker is facing criminal charges after she allegedly abandoned a little girl on the streets of Queens. The girl was ultimately reunited with her family, but only after wandering to a bodega, where a worker called police.
The 5-year-old girl walked into the bodega in Far Rockaway Wednesday evening, according to police. The store owner, Carlos Cruz, told News 4 the girl, Essiah Love Miller, was hungry but OK.
"We were just wondering who she came with, how she got here," said Cruz, owner of Three Brothers Supermarket.
Police say Trimeka Crum, 35, was supposed to drop the girl off near her home and make sure she got inside safely. Instead, Crum allegedly dropped the girl off on a sidewalk and left.
"I think we were more afraid than her. She was really brave and not crying at all," said Cruz.
Essiah gave Cruz her name but did not know her home address, authorities said.
A worker called police around the same time her aunt, who is also her guardian, called to report her missing.
The girl was reunited with her aunt and is in good health, police said.
"I'm so happy she came into the store. She was safe and not wandering around or ask someone in the street," said Cruz.
Crum is being charged with child endangerment.
Crum's attorney, Dorothy Hughes, told reporters after her arraignment Thursday that it was a "misunderstanding."
Local
According to Hughes, Crum had an arrangement with the girl's family to drop her off every day. She was supposed to either walk the child upstairs or call her older sibling to come down and get her.
Crum dropped off Essiah at the front door Wednesday, watched her go inside and then waited two minutes, said Hughes. Essiah never came back out, so Crum left.
"We are glad that she is safe and sound," said Hughes.
Crum's day care, which she ran out of her home on Mott Street, was licensed at the time but faced at least six violations dating back to July 2016. Those violations included a worker with a missing CPR certification and a failure to submit proof of training. Everything was corrected, according to state inspectors.
But Thursday evening, the state suspended and revoked the license based on the city's Department of Health recommendation.
One grandmother defended Crum, calling her "the sweetest person."
"My other granddaughter has been here since she was six years old, since she was a little baby," said Georgia Edwards.
