the teenage mother Catalina |
Neighbors discovered the baby
on the roadway, still strapped to his safety seat, which was lying on
its side. Luckily, the baby was unhurt.
The baby's mother, 19-year-old
Catalina Clouser, who allegedly had been smoking marijuana, was
arrested and charged with aggravated driving under the influence and
child abuse, police said.
"We believe that whatever she
was under the influence of was the deciding factor in what did happen
to this child and we're extremely happy that for the baby this turned
out well and the baby is going to be OK," Officer James Holmes of the
Phoenix Police Depart said.
Clauser, her boyfriend and
their friends had been smoking marijuana earlier in the evening at a
nearby park, but the boyfriend was arrested on suspicion of aggravated
DUI when they went to a store (with the baby in the car) to get beer,
according to police.
Upset that her boyfriend was
arrested, police said, Clauser went to a friend's home and smoked more
marijuana.
Clauser left around midnight
and apparently put the sleeping baby on the roof of the car and drove
off, forgetting he was there, and continued driving after the baby fell
off the car, Holmes said.
Leilani Gerlach, a homeowner
who lives across from the intersection, notified police after she and
another neighbor saw the baby in the car seat on the street.
"We were both rolling our eyes
in astonishment that someone could forget their baby," Gerlach said.
"The car seat was turned to the side so anyone passing by wouldn't be
able to tell there was an actual baby inside. Thank God they stopped."
After police arrived, two
people walked up and told them the baby was Clausen's. As the officers
talked to the two, who identified themselves as friends of Clausen and
her boyfriend, the young mother drove up, police said.
"She had gotten into her car,
set the baby seat on top of the car and forgot that the child was up
there. It does not appear that immediately she realized what happened,"
Holmes said. "I think that perhaps she got where she was going and
realized that she did not have the baby in the car."
"There was damage to the car
seat, it was scraped but there was no damage to the child," Holmes
said.
The baby is now in custody of
Child Protective Services.
How can anyone, especially a mother forget their child on the roof of their car and drive off without even noticing that their child was not with them..even after the car seat fell off??
This is one of the reasons why children should not procreate. Smh!
No comments:
Post a Comment
please post your comments....