Suit: Toddler was left alone overnight at Harvey day care center

A toddler spent the night alone locked inside a south suburban day care center last year when staff members didn’t realize his parents hadn’t come to pick him up, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court.

Shamika Strickland’s son was 2 years old when she dropped him off at Hugs & Snugs Day Care Academy, 72 E. 147th St. in Harvey, on Friday, Jan. 30, 2015, the suit says.

She thought the boy was going to be picked up later that day by his father, who instead thought Strickland was supposed to retrieve the tot, the suit says.

No one at the day care noticed the boy was still inside when they locked up for the weekend, and he stayed there overnight into the next day until anyone realized the mistake, the suit alleges.

A Hugs and Snugs representative could not immediately be reached for comment.

The two-count negligence suit claims the boy had to be taken to a hospital but doesn’t specify his injuries. Strickland is seeking more than $100,000 in damages.