Baby hospitalized after traffic accident with no child safety seat

A Jonesboro Police Department patrol car. Photo by Stan Morris.

JONESBORO, Ark. – A mother was cited for not having a child seat in a vehicle after police worked a wreck and found she had her child strapped to her chest with the seat belt over the baby.

It happened on Friday, August 31. At 3:53 PM, officers arrived at East Highland Drive and Rains Street, where the accident had taken place. They found the mother/passenger holding her baby in a “kangaroo baby carrier.” She was crying and asking if the baby was okay. The mother told authorities she had a car seat at home but was in a hurry and thought the baby would be okay.

After being taken to an area hospital, the child was transported to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis for further treatment. No condition was available in the report.

Meanwhile, the vehicle’s driver, female, 49, was acting irrationally at the scene of the wreck, the report said. She was actually handcuffed due to her behavior for several minutes to force her to calm down.

The driver was cited for no child passenger restraint and careless and prohibited driving. The passenger/mother was cited for second degree endangering the welfare of a minor.

A report was sent to the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline.

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