BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A woman was released from jail after she allegedly told her daughter to walk to an elementary school 19 miles away.
Lucia Victoria Marie Cruz, 35, posted bond Thursday morning, less than 24 hours after she was arrested on a charge of child endangerment.
Cruz told her daughter, who is younger than 12 years old, to walk to school on her own Wednesday, according to a Bexar County Sheriff’s Office report.
The girl attends Carnahan Elementary, which is about 19 miles from their home on Orpheus Way near Highway 211.
“That’s just crazy,” said James Nuells, who lives in the same neighborhood as Cruz.
Nuells, who has young children of his own, says he’d never dream of allowing them to travel alone like that.
“My wife would kill me,” he said. “My kids barely even walk down the street to take the bus, and I walk with them.”
The girl was found walking alone on State Highway 211, according to a Northside Independent School District Police Department dispatcher. She had walked about a mile from her home when someone found her.
She told deputies Cruz was passed out after drinking an entire bottle of wine Tuesday night.
When the girl attempted to wake her up, the report states Cruz refused to take her to school, telling her to go on her own before going back to sleep.
“It’s super congested with all the traffic and stuff like that,” Nuells said. “So having a little girl like that walk down 211 don’t make no sense.”
KSAT 12 News attempted to reach Cruz at her home Friday morning, but no one answered.
The witness who noticed the girl picked her up and drove her to school, telling school officers what happened once they arrived.
Deputies arrested Cruz at her home Wednesday morning. The girl was placed with another relative, following the arrest.
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