COCONUT CREEK, FLA. (WSVN) - A Coconut Creek Police officer found two adult siblings high and passed out in a car before she discovered a young girl in the back seat.
Both subjects faced a South Florida judge after they were accused of making a dangerous decision on July 31.
Coconut Creek Police Officer Shana Conley said the scene was disturbing.
“I was very upset at first when I saw the little girl in the backseat,” Conley said. “Then I became a little angry that a mother would put her daughter in such a terrible position.”
According to court documents, 26-year-old James Atkins, the child’s uncle, and the child’s mother, 30-year-old Sarah Atkins, were the subjects who were found passed out.
Officials said it was 3 p.m. when Conley, who was off-duty and heading home, spotted the car. It was on the side of the street near the 1000 block of Lyons Road.
“Knocked on the windows several times. Nobody responded. Nobody woke up,” Conley said, “and the vehicle was locked.”
After calling back to police headquarters, Conley was given permission to break the window, and once she did, she learned the people in the car weren’t just passed out from drugs, they weren’t alone.
When I did so, I saw a little head pop up,” she said. “It was a little girl in the back seat of the car.”
Officials said the child’s mother and uncle were both high on drugs at the time and were arrested.
The young girl is now safe.
“I hope that anybody that’s out there that does abuse drugs and has children will see this story and hopefully get help and not put their children in danger, themselves, or others,” Conley said.
Both suspects are charged with child neglect and possession of narcotics.
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