A baby was expected to survive after being born in an Ohio Burger King toilet to a mother who was apparently overdosing on heroin, police said. (FOX28 Columbus)
A baby born in a Burger King restroom to a mother suspected of having used heroin was expected to survive, police said, while the mother awaits further court action after being arrested.
Police in Chillicothe, about 49 miles south of Columbus, said the mother, identified as Elizabeth D. Sanders, 26, apparently overdosed and thought she had suffered a miscarriage.
Officers found Sanders seated on the toilet inside a bloodied stall, with a suspected ball of heroin on the floor nearby and the baby floating face-up in the toilet, police said.
“Due to her level of impairment she was completely unaware, or at least believed to be unaware, that she was giving birth at the time,” police told FOX28 Columbus.
Medics told Sanders to stand up, which caused the newborn to turn facedown in the water, the Chillicothe Gazette reported. They baby, who was still breathing, was rushed to a local hospital.
Police said the baby was expected to be OK, but details on the child’s custody couldn’t be provided, pending an investigation, a children’s services representative told the paper.
Sanders was arrested on an outstanding theft warrant after her release from a hospital, the paper reported. She pleaded not guilty Monday and was released.
“Due to her level of impairment she was completely unaware, or at least believed to be unaware, that she was giving birth at the time."
Police said Thursday that they helped Sanders enroll in a drug treatment program.
Meanwhile, the man who had accompanied Sanders to Burger King, identified as Zachary Frey, 26, was found passed out in the driver’s seat of a running car outside the restaurant, FOX8 Cleveland reported. He was roused by officers and displayed drooling and slurred speech.
Frey was arrested for operating a vehicle while impaired and possession of drug paraphernalia, the station reported.
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