WARREN, Ohio - A young mother and grandmother in Ohio are charged with child endangering after police said they overdosed with a baby nearby, leaving the crying child unattended.
"As a caregiver for the child, you have a duty to take care of the kid and you know, obviously, if you're overdosing, you're unable to do that, so therein lies the problem," said Warren Police Capt. Robert Massucci.
Police said it happened on the afternoon of March 31. After an investigation, 19-year-old Tonya Foster and her mother, 48-year-old Tammy Foster, were charged with child endangering and are being held in the Trumbull County Jail. They pleaded not guilty in court Thursday.
Both have been ordered not to have contact with Tonya's 9-month-old son.
The woman the Fosters were staying with called 911 that afternoon, saying Tammy was foaming at the mouth and Tonya was snoring. She said they were lying on the floor unconscious, and had very shallow breathing and blue lips.
"I smacked her in the face, but they won't wake up," the woman said in the 911 call.
Police said Tonya and Tammy snorted heroin in a basement bathroom at the home in the 1500 block of Oak Knoll Avenue SE. Officers said they left the baby unattended in a Pack 'n Play.
"You're there ingesting drugs with a child nearby, and you're passed out, and you're supposed to be caring for that child," Massucci said.
According to a police report, it took several doses of Naloxone each to revive the pair before they were taken to the hospital.
"That actually kind of shows you the spectrum of people, you know, young and old that are both doing it. So in this situation, any situation, that's a possibility," said Massucci.
Police said the child is doing fine and has been placed with other family members.
