(WHDH) — A 32-year-old mother and a 69-year-old grandmother are facing criminal charges after police found a 16-day-old infant covered in ants on the floor of their trash-strewn minivan during a traffic stop last week, officials said.
Deputies stopped the child’s mother, Rebeca Jean Fultz, and their grandmother, Charolotte J. Simpson, in London, Kentucky, on Thursday night after observing a number of traffic violations, according to the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office.
The women were informed that they were under arrest after deputies learned they each had outstanding bench warrants. One of them allegedly refused to get out the vehicle and had to be removed.
During a search of their Chrysler Town & Country, officials say the deputies found the infant on the floor between the two front seats with its head facing toward the center console.
The infant, who was struggling to breathe, was said to be covered in ants and in a soiled diaper.
Deputies also reported trash and debris all over the van, including a flatscreen TV, “which could have easily been thrown about in the vehicle during a sudden stop.”
The infant was taken to an area hospital and treated for dehydration. Social Services was notified.
Fultz is charged with criminal abuse on a child 12 or under and resisting arrest, in addition to failure to appear in court on charges of failure to use a child restraint device in a vehicle, failure of owner to maintain required insurance, and failure to produce an insurance card.
Simpson is charged with criminal abuse on a child 12 or under, operating on a suspended or revoked operator’s license, failure to wear seatbelts, failure of a nonowner operator to maintain required insurance, no registration plates, and no registration receipt.
An investigation is ongoing.
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