A North Carolina day care center is closing after five of its toddlers escaped and wandered near a major road.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports that officials at Pinedale Christian Day Care have informed the state Child Development and Early Education division that it's closing in three weeks.

State Health and Human Services spokeswoman Sarah Lewis Peel says the decision was made voluntarily by the day care, which operates inside Pinedale Christian Church.

Winston-Salem police said the five children were supposed to be at the day care last Dec. 4 when they were spotted walking into traffic on a busy road.

An officer and some motorists gathered them up and took them to safety.

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Information from: Winston-Salem Journal, http://www.journalnow.com