LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) – The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office arrested a woman after she was reportedly found passed out in her vehicle with her toddler, who was freezing.
Sheriff John Root says deputies were called about a woman passed out in her vehicle on the shoulder of KY 30 on Saturday morning.
Reportedly when deputies arrived, they found Melisha Harris, 40, of Manchester slumped over the steering wheel with the engine off but the vehicle still in drive.
Deputies say on her lap was an 18-month-old child with only a t-shirt and diaper on, even though the temperature outside was in the 30s. Deputies reported that the toddler was very cold and shaking, and that his or her feet, arms and legs were blue and cold to the touch.
The child was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where the toddler was found to have a body temperature of 95.1 degrees.
Reportedly when deputies tried to remove Harris from the vehicle she tried to fight them before being taken into custody.
Harris was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence – first offense; criminal abuse – first-degree; menacing; booster seat violations; resisting arrest.
She was taken to the Laurel County Detention Center.
