Collin County, TX– A recent legal action initiated in Collin County on Thursday claims that a 2-year-old girl became ensnared in a 6-to-7-foot-deep drain filled with contaminated water at a daycare in Prosper, remaining trapped for almost an hour.
On November 1, an incident took place at Children’s Lighthouse in Prosper, involving a girl who was playing on the daycare playground. Lawyers Levi McCathern and Ty Sheaks, representing the girl’s parents, assert that the child fell into the drain due to its “unsecured” cover.
“This kid may have been submerged up to her neck,” McCathern said. “Luckily, it wasn’t underwater, or we’d be dealing with a fatality here.”
Sheaks reported that the drain cover, marked with a cautionary message stating, “Danger, do not enter, fatal poison gas”—was either overturned or replaced after the child fell, leaving her trapped below ground.
The complaint claims that the daycare personnel failed to promptly contact emergency services or law enforcement upon realizing the child was unaccounted for. She was ultimately located almost an hour later, as stated in the lawsuit, dirty and exhibiting signs of distress.
McCathern expressed strong disapproval of the daycare’s management of the situation, stating to WFAA, “The actions taken prior to the incident are unacceptable.” The actions taken following the event are beyond redemption.
The girl’s parents are demanding accountability and answers, claiming that the daycare has not provided them with the surveillance footage of the incident.
In response to the allegation regarding the refusal to release the footage, the daycare issued the following statement to WFAA:
“Regarding the video, Children’s Lighthouse of Prosper is fully cooperating with all relevant authorities and working with its insurance team to ensure that everything is addressed properly. As part of this ongoing process, the Prosper school is following procedural guidelines, which includes handling certain information through their appropriate channels.”
The daycare provided the following statement concerning the reported incident:
“At Children’s Lighthouse of Prosper, every child’s safety has been and will always be our top priority. We wholeheartedly understand the concern surrounding this previous event, and we want to reassure our community that the situation that occurred on Friday, November 1st was an isolated incident that we’ve all taken very seriously. Steps were taken to prevent this from happening again, including the immediate installation of a fence around the area.