Woman reportedly found in Pensacola roadway at 4 a.m. with 3-year-old dressed only in pajamas
A woman is charged with child neglect after she and her 3-year-old grandchild were found standing in the middle of a Pensacola, Fla., roadway early Monday morning — with the child dressed only in pajamas in temperatures in the low 40s, WEAR reports.
According to a Pensacola Police Department arrest report obtained by the outlet, 47-year-old Rebecca Diane Cross was found with her grandchild in the middle of Wright Street in Pensacola about 4 a.m. Monday.
The child, with no shoes, socks or jacket, was “screaming and crying,” while Cross “was in an excited state and was screaming that the child could not breathe.”
Officers noted in the report the child was “cold to the touch” and had arms, face and feet that were “extremely red and discolored,” suggesting the child had been exposed to the cold temperatures and 10-20 mph wind for an extended period.
A bystander gave the child a jacket. The child was transported to a local hospital for treatment and later released to the care of an unspecified person. The Florida Department of Children and Families was contacted.
According to the report, Cross had been caring for the child since Friday. It makes no mention of the child’s parents.
Officers also noted Cross was having difficulty focusing or remembering and had urinated on herself. She also had glassy eyes and her pupils were dilated, an officer wrote in the report.
“Based upon my prior training and experience, I believed Cross to be under the influence of an unknown narcotic,” the officer wrote.
Cross remained in the Escambia County (Fla.) Jail as of Monday afternoon, held in lieu of $5,000 bond. She is due in court Jan. 5.