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Police are investigating the report of a baby crawling on the street in Lakewood.
Kala Kachmar, @NewsQuip

LAKEWOOD – A man from Eatontown said that he stopped traffic on Saturday when he saw something incredible – a baby crawling on Joe Parker Road in Lakewood.

Cory M. Cannon, 41, of Eatontown, said he was going to work after 5 pm Saturday, he saw something in the street.

"I thought it was a toy or something until it moved," he wrote in a message to Asbury Park Press. "I knew I had to get some sort of proof and my GPS was open on my phone, so I used my work vehicle to slow down the traffic behind me and I took the picture out of the vehicle and stopping oncoming cars. "

He said he called the Lakewood police after finding the baby and giving them the address.

Police confirmed the incident and on Monday morning, no arrests were made.

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A woman at home where the baby would have crawled out came out when the Asbury Park press knocked on the door. She thanked the reporter for the opportunity to comment and said that what happened was an accident, but that she was busy taking care of her baby and could not speak.

Lakewood Police Captain Gregory Staffordsmith said the investigation had revealed that the child may have left a door open by an older brother and that the family was unaware that he was party until a neighbor brings him back.

Lakewood Mayor Ray Coles said the child protection workers had been in contact with the baby's family.

"Whenever you have a child in danger, they get involved to ensure the safety of the child," said Coles. The police investigation is also ongoing, said Staffordsmith.

The road speed limit, which connects Lanes Mill Road at both ends, is 40 mph.

Cannon said that a neighbor went out on the street at the same time as the police came. He followed the neighbor to the baby's house. A young child answered the door, which was ajar, he said.

A baby is shown crawling across the Joe Parker Road to Lakewood. (Photo courtesy of Cory Cannon)

"I think she's crawled out of the front door," Cannon said.

Neighbors and friends of the family, whose child crawled across the street, said that the child's parents were extraordinary and dedicated people who had made a mistake. The two individuals spoke with the Asbury Park press under the guise of anonymity.

"It's devastating what people are saying on social media," she said, adding that the family is still in the park playing with their children. "I am personally destroyed because I know the family."

A man from the neighboring Grandview Drive, who crosses Joe Parker Road, said he was a member of various community agencies and saw tragedies of all kinds in Lakewood.

"We are all people of means," he said. "If we had the feeling that there was a problem with the family, we would have got them the help they needed. We are a community that cares for each other.

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On Sunday night, Cannon's photo and Facebook post on the baby became viral, garnering more than 500 comments and more than 2,000 actions.

Some Facebook commentators have expressed their horror, shock and thanks for playing. Other commentators have attacked for taking a picture before running towards the baby's help. Other Facebook users said they had experiences similar to his own.

The family's neighbor said it was discouraging to see so many people judge the baby's parents when they did not know the facts.

"If I did not know them personally, I would not know what to say," she said. "But the things people say are terrible."

The news crews surrounded the family home Monday morning.

Cannon, who has a four-month-old daughter and several nieces and nephews, said he was shocked by this ordeal.

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Subsequently, "I could not wait to see my daughter and give her a big hug," he said.

In recent years, similar emergencies have prompted rapid response from Lakewood Emergency Services Organizations and the Township Government.

Coles, the mayor, said that, as in the past, he expected a strong community reaction to the viral image.

"It's a community problem and we're all going to try to … do something," said Coles.

Posters reminding parents to check the backseat of their vehicle – an answer to the situation where several children have been left in hot cars in recent years – are rising in the city's businesses. Earlier this year, the government and the Lakewood emergency services teamed up again with community groups to distribute pedestrian safety cards on both sides before crossing the street and reflective clothing. .

The rapidly expanding municipality, which is the state's fifth largest municipality with more than 102,000 inhabitants, experienced a sharp increase in fatal road accidents in 2017, prompting county and state authorities to announce an initiative. road safety.

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Lakewood police are investigating the scene of an 11th street accident that killed Yocheved Abraham. (Photo: THOMAS P. COSTELLO / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

When cars collide with pedestrians, it's often a child or teenager who's partying on foot. At least four children have been killed and killed since 2014 in Lakewood, according to press reports:

And at least six children have been injured in recent years. Two children aged 1 and 4 and their mother aged 27 were hospitalized after a car from Lincoln City hit them at Route 9 and Edgewood Court in September 2015, police said at the time.

According to the Ocean County Attorney's Office, the authorities accused Michael Adler, then 26, of Lakewood, of reckless driving and not stopping on a school bus after hitting a nine-year-old boy and having dragged him 80 feet. .

That same month, a 17-year-old boy was hospitalized after an Oldsmobile hit him as he was crossing Highway 9 on Route 88 with a group of friends, the police said at the time.

In March 2017, a 3-year-old boy suffered a nosebleed and other minor injuries when a slow minibus hit him while he was walking with his mother and three other children. said the police at that time.

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Chaim Baruchov, 17, of Lakewood, was hit by a car at intersections of Highways 9 and 88.
ANDREW FORD

On July 23, an 11-year-old boy was hospitalized after a Brooklyn woman hit his car on Clover Street, near Ocean Avenue. Police at the time said the boy had suddenly run into the street.

In addition to community safety initiatives, the Township announced in June a $ 2-million effort to install sidewalks, among other road repairs.

In the same month, an Asbury Park Press investigation revealed that the township police department's accident investigation unit was the target of a federal investigation.

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Amanda Oglesby: @OglesbyAPP; 732-557-5701; [email protected]

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