Pot Smoking Mom Forgets Baby on Car Roof, Drives Off
Catalina Clouser, a 19-year-old marijuana-smoking mother, made headlines Saturday after driving off with her 5-month-old son on the roof of her car.
The Phoenix woman started driving the car with the baby in his carseat on the roof. The seat fell off into an intersection, and she didn't realize her baby was missing until she got home, reports say.
The baby was unhurt since he was securely fastened into his seat, but the mother has been booked into jail on child abuse and aggravated assault charges, Reuters reported.
According to police reports, Clouser was first caught smoking marijuana with her boyfriend, who was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. Upset by the incident, she proceeded to a friend's house, where she smoked more marijuana, before leaving with her baby and forgetting him on the roof.
Phoenix police found the child after receiving calls about a car seat in the middle of the road. Witnesses and friends of Clouser identified the baby, according to Reuters.
The baby is now in the custody of Arizona Child Protective Services.
The incident comes less than one month after Krista Mann, 28, was arrested after allegedly leaving her two children unattended in a car while she visited a tanning salon in Elizabethtown, Pa.
An officer checking parking meters spotted the 6-year-old girl and 10-month-old baby boy sitting in an unattended car. When the officer asked the girl where her mother was, she pointed to the tanning salon across the street, according to Yahoo News. Her mother had warned her not to talk to strangers, so she started crying when the officer approached her.
When the officer approached Mann in the tanning salon she admitted that her actions had been stupid, according to the Daily Mail. When he asked for her license, she said she had left it at home, but upon further investigation the officer found out that it was suspended as a result of a prior arrest for drunk driving.
The mother of two now faces two counts of child endangerment plus driving a car on a suspended license. If found guilty she could face up to 60 days in jail.
The thing that we hope occurs is that we raise public awareness to the fact that we should not be leaving our children unattended in vehicles, particularly with the keys in the ignition, Elizabethtown Police Chief Jack Mentzer told The Huffington Post. Kids are curious by nature. All it would have taken is the 6-year-old moving the gear-selector in the car and goodness knows what would have happened.
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.