NEAR OCALA, Fla. (WSVN) — A North Central Florida mother was arrested after she was caught on camera running through traffic with a baby in her arms.
Authorities got a call that had even veteran sheriff’s deputies in disbelief: a woman who later admitted to being on drugs was seen darting in and out of traffic holding a little baby.
“She was acting very erratically,” said Marion County Sheriff’s Office PIO, Lauren Lettelier, “darting in and out of cars, barking at cars as some witnesses referred to, and she had a very young child in her hands.”
According to deputies, the incident happened Monday.
Kayla Morgan was seen holding a baby draped over her right arm as if the child were a jacket.
Body cam video from the first deputy called to the scene showed the woman running from police while the deputy is heard saying, “I just want to know what’s going on with you. You’re not in trouble.”
“She thought the deputy was a monster who was going to suck out her blood,” said Lettelier. “I mean, that’s what these drugs do to people.”
According to deputies, when they tried to stop her, Morgan started walking in front of cars, ran from the deputy and eventually dropped the baby head first on the side of the highway.
“So she was running away from the deputy,” said Lettelier, “and you can see her running off the road and running into the grass. You can see the baby falling to the ground, and it is quite disturbing to see.”
Once arrested, deputies said Morgan told them she had taken meth and other drugs.
Morgan’s mother said her daughter has been dealing with postpartum depression and an abusive relationship. She also added that Morgan loves her son more than “life itself.”
However, right now, Morgan’s infant son is in the hospital with a skull fracture from that fall.
In the meantime, she is facing a judge on charges of aggravated child abuse and resisting an officer.
Investigators said Morgan admitted to taking the drug “molly” and methamphetamine for three days before the incident.
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