Boyd Sheriff: Wandering boy jumped out of car window

Henry Culvyhouse, The Daily Independent, Ashland, Ky.
·2 min read

Mar. 24—SUMMIT — A 7-year-old boy found wandering toward U.S. 60 on State Route 716 early Wednesday jumped out of a car window, according to the Boyd County Sheriff's Department.

The developmentally disabled child sustained scratches and scrapes to his knees and elbows and a cut to the forehead, the sheriff's office said. The boy is being treated at Cabell Huntington Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Thirty-three-year-old Meghan Lara, the boy's mother, was charged Wednesday with first-degree wanton endangerment and first-degree criminal abuse, the sheriff's office said.

The boy was located around 5:49 a.m. by a Kentucky Power worker, who found him wandering toward U.S. 60 along 716 in the area of Armco Park, according to Sheriff Bobby Jack Woods.

The worker took the boy into his truck and reported the child had no shoes and was non-verbal, the sheriff said.

Boyd County Sheriff's deputies and Boyd EMS responded immediately to the scene — the boy was taken to King's Daughter Medical Center.

Due to his disability, the child could not relate to officers where he had come from, nor what happened to him, according to the sheriff's department.

A canvas of the immediate area turned up no leads, a department release stated.

Lara later called KDMC to see if her child was there, according to deputies. She went to the emergency room, where she was met by deputies, the release stated. She then proceeded to give deputies conflicting stories as to what happened, according to the release.

Sheriff Woods said deputies deduced the child had jumped from the open, rear window of Lara's Kia Soul. He said deputies determined the child locks were engaged, but the window was down. Further evidence indicated the child had grabbed onto the roof of the car to pull himself out, according to Woods.

At the time, Woods said Lara was on her way to pick someone up for an appointment. The sheriff said when Lara picked up the individual, she asked them to keep an eye on her son.

"They looked back there and told her there wasn't a child there," Woods said.

Woods said deputies are unable to put an exact time for how long the boy was wandering the area prior to being discovered.

(606) 326-2653 — henry@dailyindependent.com