TOWN 'N' COUNTRY, Fla. — Cody Noble was just three years old and was a twin to his sister, Eleanor.
"Super smart kid. Excellent swimmer. He was a fish... My little boy is not neurotypical. He is an autistic little boy," mother Stephanie Noble explained.
Noble said her family spent the last few days packing and moving into their new apartment in Town 'N' Country. Wednesday was their first night in their new home.
"After we put Cody in his toddler bed, we were out here trying to eat a little bit of food before we went to bed because we were all so wiped out. We called it a night around 12 o'clock, 12:30. We just passed out," Noble added.
Noble said one hour later, Cody managed to unlock the front door and wandered onto Sheldon Road. Fast forward two hours later, Noble told us she heard a commotion and ran out of bed before panicking at the sight of her front door cracked open.
She said she looked downstairs and found deputies searching the complex.
"They didn't tell me what happened fully. They waited. I knew the worst. I knew the worst immediately," Noble said.
Deputies said around 3 a.m., a man was driving home from work before he hit and killed Cody. They said he showed no signs of speeding or impairment.
"I'm in shock. Still in shock. It still doesn't feel real," Noble added.
Related Story: 'Heartbreaking tragedy': Toddler hit and killed by car in Town 'N' Country after getting out of home: HCSO
Boxes fill the family's living room. Inside are things like motion sensors that notify the Nobles on their phone.
They said just one of the precautions could have prevented this.
"What can you say? Everybody makes mistakes? No. That's not going to cut it. I can spin this how many ways from Sunday. I just don't want somebody to be in this situation like me. Let's help prevent them from going through this tragedy," Noble pleaded.
Meanwhile, she said before they moved into Valencia at Westchase, management told her they were working on fixing the gate so that it could close.
Neighbors we talked with said they've never seen it shut.
"They're always open. They do not close. Not from what I've seen so far," Joanna Ceno, claimed resident, said.
We were told by management to leave the property. We've called the owner of the complex, which is based out of Houston, and were told they would call us back.
"My prayer is that they get it fixed so that someone else's child doesn't get killed," Noble added.
Noble told us that pointing the blame won't bring her son back, but she hopes other parents will learn from this tragedy and baby-proof their homes immediately.
"He was loving and kind. He gave us hugs and I would give anything to bring my boy back," Noble said.
