Ohio police said passersby rescued a 1-year-old girl from a hot car last week as her parents overdosed in a Canton parking lot.
Speaking with “Inside Edition,” Eric Asher said he and his fiancée, Alexandria Whitt, were driving down the road when they saw a couple lying motionless outside a car and a baby sitting in the back seat, covered in sweat.
“We were driving down the road and I looked over to my right and I saw the male and female laying on the ground,” he said. “We [later] saw that they were purple.”
Asher said he and Whitt removed the child from the vehicle and got her water. Another bystander reportedly called 911.
Officials who responded to the scene said they found Cody Powell, 29, lying on his back while Michelle Hall, 29, was sprawled out on top of Powell’s legs. The pair were administered Narcan and rushed to the hospital, according to WJW.
A police report obtained by the station stated that a syringe was recovered from the car. Officials alleged that Powell admitted to purchasing heroin and doing it with Hall before losing consciousness. Meanwhile, Hall reportedly denied using illegal drugs and said she must’ve dozed off after taking multiple prescription drugs.
Asher went on to post photos of the harrowing ordeal to his Facebook page—a decision he says resulted in some backlash.
“The only reason we posted that picture was to bring awareness,” Asher said. “I have family and friends dying like everybody does daily over this epidemic. We just wanted people to be aware of what was going on in our community. We did not expect it to go viral.”
Hall reportedly called Asher to thank him for saving her daughter. Asher said the mother claimed they were sober for two years but had relapsed after they stop taking government-provided medication.
“When they relapsed, it had a greater effect than when they used to do drugs,” he told “Inside Edition.”
While Powell and Hall are currently charged with endangering children, WXYZ reported that law enforcement gave the pair Good Samaritan sheets. The sheets will give them 30 days to seek treatment. Per Ohio state law, drug offenders are given two opportunities to avoid prosecution. However, the news station noted that Ohio has no database which logs drug overdoses.
Child Protective Services were informed of the August 10 incident and informed Stark County police that the couple had an open case out of Mahoning County. As a result, Mahoning County CPS officials took temporary custody of the 1-year-old at the hospital, according to WXYZ.
Reports indicated that the baby is in a family member’s care.
[Featured image: Facebook]
