Young Palm Coast mom arrested after 2 year old found wandering near busy roadway

A Palm Coast woman was arrested after her 2-year-old son was found wandering along a busy roadway while she was asleep in their condominium, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.

Isabella Tucci, 22, was charged with felony neglect of a child without great bodily harm. She was booked into the Flagler County jail on Monday and released several hours later after posting a $2,500 bond.

A woman visiting from Connecticut found the 2-year-old boy about 9 a.m. Monday walking in the roadway at the entrance to a condo complex at 54 Clubhouse Drive in Palm Coast. The boy was not injured and was wearing a onesie pajama and “a very soiled diaper,” the sheriff’s office stated.

She stood by with the child and when she couldn't find the boy's parents she called the sheriff’s office at 9:17 a.m., a charging affidavit stated.

Deputies took the child to the Palm Coast District Office and began searching for the mother. They found a condo with the front door open and inside they found Tucci, who was asleep.

Tucci said she last saw her son at 2 a.m. when she put him to bed in his room. She said she had not checked on him since and was asleep until she was awoken by deputies about 10:30 a.m.

She said there has been a continuing issue of the child unlocking and opening doors. Deputies noted that Tucci had not installed child-proof locks.

Deputies also noted that the second-floor condo has a stairway, which is a fall hazard, and that a canal runs just behind the building constituting a water hazard. Also, the child was found at the entrance to the condo along Club House Drive, a heavily traveled road.

Deputies also found open containers of alcohol in the condo. Food and trash cluttered the floors. There were no clothes for the 2-year-old in his room, deputies said.

Tucci said that she recently tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and alcohol. A Department of Children and Families investigator conducted a drug test, and Tucci tested positive for methadone, a narcotic.

The DCF took custody of the child and is continuing their investigation and working on a Safe Parenting Plan for the child.

“This was a very sad situation that could have turned out a whole lot worse," Sheriff Rick Staly stated on social media. "Thankfully, a concerned visitor ‘saw something’ and decided to ‘say something,’ potentially saving a life."

Staly advised parents to child-proof their homes.

"Otherwise, we and DCF will get involved," he said. "Hopefully, this young mother will get the help she needs and turn her life around.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Young Palm Coast mom arrested after 2 year old found wandering near busy roadway