Employee witnesses man hitting child, calls for help

A man is charged with child abuse after a hospital employee witnessed him striking a child in the face and chest on a security camera.

Washington County court records show Richard Buzzell Jr. is accused of hitting the two-year-old in the Jane Medical Center parking lot.

The suspect and the boy were at the hospital visiting the child's mother.  Records show the mother was being treated for an illness.

Buzzell was walking with the child in a parking garage when he was spotted on camera hitting the child twice in the face.

It didn't stop there.

Records show the suspect looked around for a moment and then hit the boy in the chest.  He was also seen throwing the child into the seat of a car.

The hospital called police and the suspect was taken into custody.

Buzzell will return to court on Sept. 6.