Two Year Old Wanders Away From Daycare Center

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) - The owner of a local daycare center is apologizing to the parents of a two year old they were supposed to be caring for.

Tuesday morning, David Malakai wandered away from the backyard of "Our Children Child Care Center" on the 6600 block of Georgia Avenue.

When you hear where he went, his parents say, it is a miracle he wasn't hurt. "There's no way a 2 year old can make it on Georgia Avenue for a good 45 minutes, by himself," mother Vashawn Gill said. She adds, "It's nothing but the grace of God that he's here."

His parents, along with 9NEWS NOW traced his steps, first through a muddy field full of debris that includes trash, beer cans and glass.

Then, it was on to Georgia Avenue. Witnesses told David Malakai's parents he walked roughly one block down to a CVS and then walked another two blocks in the other direction. A young woman rescued him from getting hit by a car.

Father David Gill says, "The young lady kept telling me how if she didn't grab him, the car was going to hit him. I keep replaying that back of my mind."

Sawdatou Edwards, the owner of Our Children Child Care Center says, "We are so blessed that this child is unhurt." She says David Malakai was one of 17 children in the backyard when he slipped through a small gap between the door and fence. She points out there were four adults supervising at the time.

When asked how a child still managed to slip away, she said, "We're only human. We're only human. It's a terribly unfortunate situation that hurt our hearts and hurt the parents' heart."

Mom says she accepts Edward's heartfelt apology but adds, "It's no excuse for what happened. This could be have been a very, very bad story that we could be reporting right now."

The Gills say they are eternally grateful to the young UDC student that kept David out of harms way. They are now looking for a new daycare provider.