Children Escape Childcare Center, Run Onto Busy Road [Video]

Two young boys ran onto a busy road after escaping from a nearby childcare center in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Dashcam footage of the incident showed the boys, reported to be two-and-a-half years old, wandering on a busy street which had a sign reading speed limit 70km/h. One of them led the other across the lanes as motorists from both directions could be seen screeching to a stop. One of the motorists raced over to the children and led them to safety. Staff from the Werribee West Family Center arrived moments later and took the children back to the facility.

“I rolled out of bed slapped on my clothes and was on my way, 10:15 am local time (7.15 p.m. EDT) I’m late next minute I had to rub my eyes as these two little kids no older than 4 years old are on an adventure running across Ballan road. Jumped out my car approached them slow asking them to give me hi fives and grabbed them my heart was racing then two workers from the eagle stadium side kindergarten come running over to grab them,” a witness wrote on Facebook.

Speaking to the Age, another witness said, “Myself and several other motorists stopped to watch them until staff arrived. From what I could tell staff were unaware of what had occurred, another motorist drove to the daycare to alert them – it was only then that staff came over and collected the kids.”

Several parents showed their concern after the video of the incident went viral.

“I’m absolutely mortified… the roads out here are completely unforgiving, it gets me upset, because you imagine your own children,” one parent told 9News.

The Victorian Education and Training Department was investigating the incident.

“The health and safety of children in early childhood centres and schools is of utmost importance. The Department has commenced an investigation after being notified of an incident involving children at Werribee West Family Centre on Tuesday, 12 March. Werribee West Family Centre is operated by a third-party early childhood services provider, not the Department,” a spokesperson said, Yahoo 7 reported.

Calling the incident "unfortunate and unacceptable,” Kim Bertino, the CEO of Early Childhood Management Services, a child care agency, said, “We've been overwhelmed by parents wanting to contact us and to have the conversations and to have some clarity about how this situation occurred and most importantly that this situation doesn't happen again.”