Boy Falls Into Cheetah's Pit, Mom Charged With Child Endangerment in Cleveland
Zoo officials in Cleveland have filed a case against the mother of a toddler who fell into a cheetah exhibition pit on Saturday afternoon.
Authorities of the Cleveland Metropark Zoo have filed child endangerment charges against the mother of the two-year-old boy who sustained leg injuries after falling 10 to 12 feet into the zoo's exhibition pit.
"Unfortunately, we have a number of eyewitness accounts that point to the strong likelihood that the child was dangled over the rail," Dr. Christopher Kuhar, executive director of the zoo, told CNN affiliate WEWS.
The toddler's parents immediately went inside the exhibition pit after his fall.
Fortunately, the cheetahs did not even try to make contact with the child or his parents. The cheetahs are fed a "canine diet" or "weekly bones, horsemeat or chick or rabbit," according to the zoo's web site."
According to the Cleveland Fire Department, the child's mother, identified as Michelle Schwab, was holding two children when one of them fell inside. The two-year-old was already out of the pit when members of the fire department burst into the scene. He was quickly sent to a local hospital for observation and is reportedly in stable condition.
Schwab, 38, is the assistant director of a childcare center, KinderCare, and has a degree in therapeutic childcare.
She was charged on Monday in Cleveland Municipal Court. Her arraignment was set on April 22.
A spokesperson for KinderCare said Schwab had taken a leave of absence at one of the centers in Columbus, Ohio, the Daily Mail wrote.
"We were saddened to hear of Saturday's incident at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo involving Michelle Schwab's son, and we wish him a speedy recovery," Colleen Moran told the Daily Mail in an email. "Ms. Schwab has been the assistant director at the Sawmill Road KinderCare in Columbus. She is currently home with her family, and will remain out of our center while this issue is investigated and addressed."
"In addition to the agencies looking into this issue, we are looking into the incident further ourselves, as we closely examine issues involving the treatment of children by our employees, even if those incidents arise outside of our centers," Moran said.
