Two parents are facing child endangerment charges in Ohio after a bystander discovered a newborn attached by the umbilical cord to his unconscious mother near a Westlake hotel, 19 News reported on Thursday.
A woman discovered the mother and her baby while she was walking her dog on Tuesday evening near the Westspring Inn on Sperry Drive, Westlake Police Captain Gerald Vogel said.
Vogeal said the witness found the newborn face down crying in the grass and tried several times to wake the mother before asking hotel staff to call 911. Vogel added that the witness cut the umbilical cord and cared for the baby until first responders arrived on scene.
The 42-year-old mother and a 35-year-old man who said he is the infant’s father told police the child was born in the hotel room they were staying at “very suddenly,” according to the report, which did not identify the parents by name.
The Westlake Police Department said the father admitted to being a drug user. The father also reportedly told police he had been cleaning the room and did not know why the mother went outside.
Vogel told the outlet the father was arrested after officers found multiple warrants for him from Ohio Parole Authority and the department for drug charges.
“Vogel said Westlake EMS transported the mother to a local hospital, where Child and Family Services responded upon her arrival,” according to the report.