Florida
Florida dad accused of throwing 10-year-old daughter out of car near busy highway
A Florida man was arrested after he allegedly left his 10-year-old daughter on the side of the road. The incident came after the grandparents said they would “involve law enforcement,” affidavit says.
A Florida man was arrested on Tuesday after police said he threw his 10-year-old daughter out of his car in the night, court records show.
The father was arrested around Scott Boulevard and West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in Kissimmee after several witnesses said they saw him throwing his daughter and her belongings out of the vehicle on July 30, according to the affidavit obtained by USA TODAY.
Witnesses to the incident said around 12:40 a.m. they saw a man throw the 10-year-old and her toys at her from a silver Toyota Tundra and flee the scene. The girl was visibly upset and was crying as her father left her there, the affidavit said.
The affidavit said one of the witnesses decided to follow the father after he fled the scene. The witness said the man was driving at a high-speed rate, failed to stop for several red lights and nearly collided with other drivers on the road. The witness called law enforcement to conduct a traffic stop on the man as he continued to follow him on the highway.
Child Death: 9-month-old boy dies in backseat of hot car after parent forgets daycare drop-off
Deputies are dispatched to help the 10-year-old left by her father
Around 12:47 a.m. deputies from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a juvenile being left unattended in Kissimmee, the affidavit said.
The affidavit said when a deputy arrived, the 10-year-old girl approached the patrol car. The deputy said the girl was, “visibly distraught; her face was red, and she was actively crying.” She told the deputy that her father dropped her off in the area and she was walking to her grandparents’ house, but her father took her phone before leaving her in the area.
The 10-year-old girl was returned to her grandparents’ home and deputies informed them of the incident, the affidavit said.
Father tells deputies about incident with daughter
After conducting a traffic stop, the man was read his Miranda Rights, the affidavit said.
The affidavit said that the man told responding deputies that he had a verbal agreement with his daughter’s grandparents regarding visitation. His daughter lives with the grandparents, and they sent a text message to him around 12:00 a.m. on Tuesday. In one of the messages the grandparents said that, “if he did not return (their granddaughter) to the residence, they would involve law enforcement.”
The man then told deputies that he left his daughter in the area and told her to walk to her grandparents’ house which is approximately a 21-minute walk, the affidavit said.
Florida father is facing charges
According to records in the Osceola County Corrections database, the man is facing the following felony charge:
- 1 count of child neglect with great bodily harm
The Florida father’s bond is set at $5,000. A next court date has not been set.
USA TODAY reached out to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office for comment but have not heard back.
Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.
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Brevard County couple gets married in NICU after birth of premature twins
A Florida couple, told they may not be able to have children, welcomed premature twins and had an impromptu NICU wedding.
Provided by AdventHealth for Children
Ben and Danielle Cassidy were told they likely wouldn’t be able to have children.
But this year they will celebrate Mother’s Day just months after having an impromptu wedding in the AdventHealth for Children hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit shortly after Danielle gave birth to twins prematurely — a week before the Palm Bay couple was scheduled to get married.
Both babies, Joshua and Rhett, are doing well despite arriving nine weeks ahead of schedule on Jan. 19, 2026, just one day after their scheduled baby shower. With a proper wedding out of the question with two premature babies in the NICU, a nurse took action.
Issabel Kenkel, the nurse behind the ceremony, said she was already in wedding planning mode for her own upcoming nuptials when she found out the Cassidy family’s ceremony would be interrupted.
“I couldn’t just let them do something small. They needed decorations and something fun, so I spoke to the music therapist and the chaplain,” Kenkel said. In short order, a wedding was being planned for their hospital room and the couple was saying their vows in the company of their safely delivered newborns.
“When we found out we could request staff members to be on our team, that’s when we requested Issabel and having that kind of consistency from someone who has such a big heart and is so kind,” Danielle said.
The hospital ceremony was all the more special because of the Cassidy family’s own health struggles.
“I have five autoimmune diseases and didn’t really think I would have kids. It’s been a rough journey. When Ben and I met, we were floored at how much a miracle it was to have kids,” Danielle said.
Ben, who battled and beat cancer, said he was worried that his prior treatment would result in negative health outcomes for his future children. Having twins for him was an unexpected blessing.
“When we found out we were pregnant, we found it so shocking. We said, wouldn’t it be great if it was twins? It filled out our hopes and dreams list,” Ben said. “They’ve been miracles for sure.”
The Cassidy couple said there was so much fear and uncertainty when their twins were born nine weeks early. Being able to get married right away just made them feel all the better about the future.
“It was nice getting married because we didn’t have to wait any longer to make it official. It made it that much harder for her to get rid of me,” Ben said.
“The unknown made it scary,” Danielle added. “We had no idea how long we would be in the hospital. Our wedding was going to be at the beach with immediate family and parents. Having NICU babies, we realized we’d never be able to get to the beach. It was really special having the people who care for our babies be part of the ceremony.”
The couple hadn’t even planned to have a band at their wedding ceremony and now the hospital’s music therapist was performing live for them and the chaplain was conducting the ceremony, something nurse Kenkel said was just part of her job.
“The babies are going to have the best outcomes if the families are taken care of and going home happy,” she said. “Being in the NICU is already so stressful. This is just one more thing I could do to take care of my patients.”
Tyler Vazquez is the Growth and Development Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-480-0854 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com. X: @tyler_vazquez.
The Vero Beach Police Department took a man into custody May 8 in connection with a threatening phone call directed toward a business.
The agency received information at 5:21 p.m. May 7 about a threatening call to Thrive IRC Inc. at 2300 5th Ave. in Vero Beach, according to a news release. The call included someone threatening to come to the business with an AK rifle and “light the building up.”
Detectives began investigating the threat and identified Michael Sean O’Brien, 27, of Vero Beach, as the person associated with the phone number used during the call.
O’Brien was taken into custody at about 3:30 p.m. May 8 without incident. He was charged with the false report concerning the use of firearms in a violent manner, which is a second degree felony, according to the news release.
O’Brien was booked in the Indian River County Jail at 6:13 p.m. May 8 but was released at 1:36 p.m. May 9 after posting the $5,000 bond, according to the jail website.
No additional information was available the afternoon of May 9.
Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.
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