Baby Left Behind In Philly By Fare Dodging Mom, Grandma

A baby left behind in Philly by her mother and grandmother after it appears they may have tried to bypass paying a full fare for the SEPTA system’s El is safe after the scare, it has been reported.

The baby left behind in Philly was accidentally abandoned, it appears, at the 60th Street Station. SEPTA has not released the names of the two women the baby was traveling with, but the transit authority has disclosed how they believe the baby came to be left behind in the Philly station.

SEPTA spokeswoman Heather Redfern said that the little girl was in a stroller and that her mom and grandma might have tried to bypass paying two separate fares by using the stroller and wheelchair gate as well as another entrance.

Redfern says the baby was left behind in the confusion between the mother and grandmother after they allegedly attempted to evade the fare:

“The grandma thought the mother was going to bring the baby through the gate for strollers and wheelchairs and the mom thought grandma was taking the baby back with her.”

Instead, both women traveled and left the baby behind at the 60th Street Station, not realizing until they arrived at another destination that the child did not make the trip. A cashier at the point of departure found the little girl — who is not yet a year old — and brought her into the booth to warm her.

Luckily for all involved, grandmother, mother and baby were all reunited without further interference. Redfern says that normally fare evasion rates a ticket but that everyone was so upset by the mixup that the adults were not cited.

“We normally would have cited the people who were involved in the fare evasion, but given the traumatic experience they had gone through and because they were so visibly upset, we did not cite them in this case.”