Gwinnett County mother charged with reckless conduct after leaving teen on highway

A Gwinnett County mother is facing a criminal charge after police say she left her 17-year-old daughter alone along a busy highway late at night with no money and no working cellphone service.

Investigators say the teenager was left near Stone Mountain Highway around 11 p.m. Thursday following an argument with her mother.

“Her mother had left her there, stranded,” said Brock Marks with the Gwinnett County Police Department.

Police say the teenager was left in the roadway after her mother drove away. According to investigators, the teen had no money and her cellphone did not have an active service plan.

One parent who spoke with Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson said she couldn’t understand leaving a child in that situation.

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“Even animals get hit,” Racquel Jones said. “Why would you treat your child like an animal and just leave them out there?”

Investigators say the girl’s mother made no attempt to immediately locate her or return after driving away.

“The mother drove away with no efforts to find or relocate or even come back and discuss or talk with her child,” Marks said.

With no working cell service, police say the teenager ran through the dark to a McDonald’s near East Park Place, where she was able to connect to Wi-Fi and call 911.

Officers found the teenager upset and alone in an area she was unfamiliar with, according to police. They eventually took her home and left her in the care of another relative.

Investigators later spoke by phone with the girl’s mother, identified as 37-year-old Delishia Dunn.

“She even herself said that, you know, she had to, she just left her there,” Marks said.

Police charged Dunn with misdemeanor reckless conduct.

Parents who spoke with Johnson said they’re thankful the teenager made it somewhere safe.

“It’s too many child abductions, sex trafficking,” Jones said. “No, I wouldn’t leave my kid out here in the street.”

A judge signed an arrest warrant for Dunn shortly after midnight Friday. Police said she had not yet been taken into custody.