WFAA-TV reports

When Tamara Roberts went to pick up her son at his Mesquite day care Wednesday, she found out he was missing and school officials had yet to call authorities, she said.

Her fears were realized when she found out the 5-year-old had been struck by a pickup after he wandered onto nearby Belt Line Road. The boy, Denarius, suffered a concussion, cuts and bruises and was hospitalized at Children's Medical Center Dallas.

"The first thing I could do is drop to my knees and ask God to cover my son," Roberts said.

The Stoneway Private School's director, Julie Williams, said the boy had been fighting with another boy before he went missing. After a teacher broke up the fight, Denarius ran out of the classroom. School officials believed he was hiding in the day care, in the 2100 block of Hillcrest Street.

Roberts said she is angry that neither she nor police were notified her son was missing. After she arrived at the school, she said, Williams asked her whether she wanted to call the police. She said she responded: "Of course. Why haven't you called the police?"

School officials then called 911, and Mesquite police said the boy was found on the six-lane road about a half-mile away.

Authorities believe Denarius was trying to go home when he walked into traffic. He was expected to remain in the hospital Thursday night but was expected to recover.

Williams called the incident a bad accident but also pointed out Denarius' history of behavioral problems. But his mother said her son is blameless.

"How do you blame a 5-year-old for getting hit by a truck when his mother is at work and he is at a child care?" she said. "How do you blame your child? You don't."

Police said Child Protective Services will investigate the school.