A 2-year-old boy fell out of a car at State Road 520 and Courtney Parkway on Merritt Island Wednesday night. Gina Melder did not see the accident happen, but when she saw the child in the middle of the busy intersection her instincts kicked in.
“I put my car into park and jumped out and grabbed him put him my back seat,” said Melder.
Melder stopped traffic to pick up the child. She drove him to a drug store and called 911.
“I have grandchildren and I know would kill me to know something happened to them. I didn’t think, I just grabbed him. I didn’t care what cars were around. I just grabbed him,” said Melder.
The toddler’s mother, Laway Mehari, drove a mile and half before realizing her little boy had fallen out of the backseat of her car. When she called 911, Brevard County deputies realized the two cases were connected.
Deputies said the 2-year-old was not in a car seat. Mehari was put in handcuffs, charged with child neglect and taken to the Brevard County jail. Meahri was jailed of $2,000 bond.
Deputies said Meahri was not concerned about protecting her child. She also had an infant in her car. That child was strapped into a baby seat.
Mehari’s little boy was treated for minor injuries at Cape Canaveral hospital. He was then sent home with his father.