Marijuana-Smoking Mother Drives Car with Her 5-Week-Old Baby on Top

Marijuana-Smoking Mother Drives Car with Her 5-Week-Old Baby on Top

A Phoenix, Ariz. 19-year-old woman put her 5-week-old baby on top of her car in his car seat and drove away, apparently forgetting he was there, not even noticing when the seat fell off the car and landed in an intersection, police said.

Luckily, neighbors discovered the baby on the roadway, still strapped to his safety seat, which was lying on its side. The baby was unhurt, which is a miracle.

The baby's mother, Catalina Clouser, who allegedly had been smoking marijuana, was arrested and charged with aggravated driving under the influence and grave child abuse, police said.

Clauser, her boyfriend and their friends had been smoking marijuana earlier in the evening at a nearby park; however, the boyfriend was arrested on suspicion of aggravated DUI when they went to a store, leaving the baby in the car, to get beer, according to police.

Upset that her boyfriend was arrested, Clouser went to a friend's house and smoked more marijuana, police said.

The young mother left around midnight and apparently put the sleeping baby on the roof of the car and drove off, forgetting the baby was there, and continued driving even after the baby fell off the car, Holmes said.

Leilani Gerlach, who lives across from the intersection, notified police after she and another neighbor saw the baby in the car seat on the street.

After police arrived, two people, who identified themselves as friends of Clouser and her boyfriend, walked up and told them the baby was Clouser's.

"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."

The baby is now safe and in custody of Child Protective Services.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday June 06 2012, 5:05 AM EST. Ref: Yahoo. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Nation. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0