Slushie-Seeking Girl, 4, Leaves Home In The Middle Of The Night

4-year-old girl leaves home at 3 a.m. in search of slushie

WPIX - New York

A Philadelphia 4-year-old who wandered away from home at 3 a.m. and boarded a bus in a search for a slushie has promised to wait for her parents next time.

Harlan Jenifer, driver of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority No. 56 bus, said a man flagged down his vehicle about 3 a.m. Friday in the Tacony neighborhood and told him he had found the young girl wandering the streets alone.

"Got to be kidding me! At this time, at 3 o'clock on the morning," Jenifer told WPVI-TV. "She's a small little thing. It kind of just shocked me."

The girl, Annabelle, got onto the bus while Jenifer called police.

"All I want is a slushie, that's all she said!" Jenifer said.

"It was too funny," Jenifer told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I was scared for her, but it was funny. She was in good hands."

Annabelle's parents, Jaclyn Mager and Timothy Ridgeway, said the girl has promised not to wander off on her own in the future, but they changed the locks on their home just in case.

"There are no words, he saved my daughter's life," Mager said of Jenifer. "I'll be forever grateful."