JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Darryl Ewing was the man responsible for driving the Ewing's Love and Hope daycare van Wednesday, according to JSO. He was charged with child neglect after a 4-month-old infant was left in the car for five hours and died.
Darryl Ewing's wife and co-owner of the daycare, Gloryian Ewing, was arrested and charged with child abuse less than two years ago. Her ex-husband pressed charges against her for allegedly beating his children with an extension cord.
He said he feels pretty strongly about Wednesday’s events and thinks DCF failed when they let her run a daycare.
“If she would have been shut down from the start, this wouldn't have happened,” he said.
Willie Floyd has two children with Gloryian Ewing. The 2017 report says, "the children told him Ewing used an extension cord to hit them... because they did not clean the kitchen well enough.” Pictures showing punctured skin and welts are also mentioned in the police report.
"It hurts that I couldn't be there to protect my kids,” said Floyd. "I've been trying to get the state to do something for years. I would go to them and every time we talked, they would brush it off."
When he heard what happened to an infant, he said he was saddened but not surprised.
"I don't feel safe with my son around his mother.”
Nearby resident Hozeah Hill says his kids go to the daycare and he’s had issues with the facility. He even posted this bad review on Google two months ago saying the employees were "bad daycare workers"
"It's carelessness," Hill said. "Somebody wasn't paying attention."
Floyd says he can't imagine what the infant's family is going through, but his heart goes out to them.
“I just feel sorry for the family."
The charges in the 2017 case did not result in jail time. She took part in a pretrial intervention program and the charges were dropped.
Gloryian Ewing is not facing any charges in connection to the infant's death Wednesday. JSO tells us the investigation is active and ongoing.
First Coast News went go by the Ewing house for a comment, but no one was home. We also called Gloryian’s cell phone and got no response.