Unfreekinbelievable

[Widgetsx3]

POMONA, Calif. (AP) - A 2-year-old girl was rescued from a locked, running washer at a coin laundry and her mother was arrested after a surveillance tape allegedly showed her putting the child into the machine, police said.

An officer smashed the window of the machine with his baton to rescue the girl, who was "submerged in water," police Sgt. Matt Stone said.

The child was unconscious when she was pulled from the washer Saturday but breathing. She was taken to a hospital where she was listed in serious condition with cuts, scrapes, bruises. She had inhaled some water but was expected to survive, Stone said.

Her mother, Erma Osborne, 35, of Pomona, later was arrested for investigation of child endangerment and held on $10,000 bail.

Surveillance camera footage showed that the woman placed her daughter in one washer, then removed her and placed her in a second front-loading washer, which turned on when she closed the door, Stone said.

"She wasn't drowned but she was getting there," Los Angeles County fire Capt. Dan Ramirez said.

The machine apparently locks automatically when the wash cycle begins and does not unlock until the cycle ends, Ramirez said.

Efforts by the girl's mother and bystanders to unlock the door failed.

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[cpbaby]

WTF was this woman thinking???


Some people should be shot.

[KimNRandy]

THAT is horrifying :(

[mrs.john]

Originally posted by Widgetsx3

Efforts by the girl's mother and bystanders to unlock the door failed.

Why the he!! did she put her in there to begin with? And why did people just watch her do it, then try to do something about it?

[Kyla Kym]

Wonder if she was just playing with her daughter? I can remember when I was a kid climbing in the washer's with my cousins and pretending they were space rockets. I also can remember being in my dryer at home and mom hitting the on button one time. I think I made one loop before she realized I was in there. It sounds like the woman wasn't expecting it to start running when she closed the door. So that might be why no one said anything she might have been giggling and laughing just thinking she was playing.

I might be wrong, but it sounds like to me she made a stupid mistake. One that she will regrete for the rest of her life.

[Missysmom]

Don't you have to put money in the washers before they will work?

[Kyla Kym]

Originally posted by Missysmom
Don't you have to put money in the washers before they will work?

Missymom, that's what I was thinking too. That is why I think the mom might have just been playing with her daughter and wasn't expecting the washer to come on. Sounds like no one was expecting it to come on or they would have stopped her when she put her in the first one. I think she was playing with her daughter and when she put her in the second one for some weird reason it came on and freaked her out and all the people in there. Sounded like no one there was thinking any harm could come of it at first, because this day and age someone would have said something to her if they thought she was doing something harmful.

[Vixen]

I have to agree with Kyla Kym on this one.. I dont think she intended to hurt her.. I know I have to be VERY careful here at home cause my dd who is also 2 likes to take a book in the dryer and read.. she doesnt shut the door and I have never turned it on .. but I am always careful

[kelblend]

Originally posted by honeybear39429
stupid idiotic b!&*#


yeah!! I'm sorry I don't get it. Never ever allowed my kids in the dryer or washer for that matter. If it were an accident, one of those crazy outlandish ones to me.

[Missysmom]

This wasn't in my local paper, but here's the story from the Daily Bulletin:



POMONA - A woman was arrested Saturday night after Pomona police say she placed her 2-year-old daughter inside a coin-operated washing machine, only to find that a self-locking door prevented her from getting her child out.

The toddler was tossed, turned and nearly drowned inside the spinning washer before being rescued by two Pomona police officers, one of whom bashed in the washing machine window before they pulled the little girl out, Pomona police Sgt. Matt Stone said.

It was not immediately clear how long the child - who was expected to survive her injuries - was trapped inside the washer, Stone said.

The girl suffered cuts, bruises and scrapes as well as taking in water. She was first taken by ambulance to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center before being transferred to Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles for treatment, Stone said.

It was not immediately clear why the woman placed her child inside the washer. But a review of surveillance camera footage at Lucy's Laundrymart at 365 W. Holt Ave. indicated that the mother, identified as 35-year-old Erma Osborne of Pomona, had placed her daughter in one other washer, then took her out before placing her in a second washer.

When Osborne closed the door on the second washer, the machine turned on and the front door locked, causing her to become frantic when she realized she couldn't open it, Stone said.

The front-loading washer apparently had a door that automatically locked when the wash cycle began and didn't unlock until it ended, Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Dan Ramirez said.

Osborne was later booked into Pomona City Jail on suspicion of child endangerment. Her bail was set at $100,000, Stone said.

The little girl's parents and others at the Laundromat tried frantically to break open the washer without success. Pomona police Cpl. Tim Bergmann and Officer Willie Mortaya were the first officers to respond to the 5:30 p.m. emergency call and found the girl locked inside the washer and submerged in water.

One of the officers used his baton to break open the glass on the washer door; while one officer held the little girl's leg to keep her from getting thrashed around the spinning washer, the other pulled her out, Stone said.

Firefighters arrived just as the officers were running out of the Laundromat with the girl - unconscious but breathing - in their arms, Ramirez said.

"She wasn't drowned," he said. "But she was getting there."




Why didn't they unplug the washing machine???

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Sha]

I know this won't be popular with some of you...but jeesh she as a 35 year old woman KNOWS that children have died or been seriously injured in accidents like this. You hear about them almost every year!! Playing or not...those washers at the laundrymats lock, there are warning stickers all over them!! I am sorry, I just don't see how this woman can remember to breath since the ignorance level is so obvious!
Came back to add, I have found my daughters in the dryer playing before here at home, that is so much different than placing your child in a front loading machine at a laundrymat. Here at home we know our little ones will "hide" and play in wierd places, nothing wrong with that. But the intentional placement of her daughter like that is what ticks me off...Gosh I am so sad for that little girl right now. Why did she do that to her??

[Tasha405]

:mad: That woman could have killed her own child, playing or not she was wrong. :mad: :(

[Missysmom]

I hate to say this, but the area of Pomona this happened in is a very BAD area. It wouldn't surprise me if the mother did this on purpose, I sure hope not! People just don't seem to CARE!!! How Sad!!:(

[Kyla Kym]

I figure she is the same type of mother that would let her child child climb on the shelves at the grocery store. Those are the type that are just asking for trouble. Just like a child could pull the whole shelve down on him or just items could fall off on him.

Or how about the parents that let their kids stand up in buggies. Don't they know if their child falls out and hits the concrete it might just kill them? But yet these type parents don't see the dangers until it's to late. I'm not taken up for her. But there are lots of parents like this all around you if you look close enough....the only difference is, they are lucky and nothing ever happens to their child.

[VenusA423]

Some people just shouldn't have kids. I could maybe almost understand a younger person doing this, but the woman was 35! I can't believe that someone would just watch her do this, intentional or not. If the machines can't start without money and can open up freely without being started..then isn't that saying that she put the money in already, and knew it would start up? :confused: I will just never understand some people.

[FireFox1973]

Originally posted by chell33:
someone should stick the mom in the washer
what a wench!!!
__________________________________________________ _________________

I was thinking the same, only no one should open it for her. At 35, you should not think that would be playing!!!

[ahippiechic]

Some people shouldn't be allowed to have a dog, much less a child. :(

[julie_angel]

How grossly irresponsible and sick! that's like saying I'd put my kid in my trunk, or in my fridge, just playing. How terrible! That poor little girl! Some people are just unbelievably stupid! that's my honest opinion. I agree with Chelle, let's stick the wench in a big size washer, turn it on, and walk away!
And I do realize there are stupid people everywhere, who let there kids stand in carriages and other stupid stuff, and believe you me, they hear it from my mouth whenever I see anything like that!

[julie_angel]

Just as stupid as the lady here that left her downs syndrome child alone in the tub and went out to get the mail and came back to find her drowned..........


I cannot believe how stupid! How stupid can a person be?????:( :mad: :( :mad: :( :mad:

[schsa]

I don't know. If she had been playing and the child was playing it may have just been a very honest but still a mistake. Kids are facinated with front load washers because it looks like all of those bubble things at the top of some of the play ground equipment.

If my kid and I were sort of playing with the washer, I might have put her in it and shut the door thinking I could open it right away. The fact that it locks and won't open is a major problem. It is possible that a child could climb into one and if they were at the very back and an adult was not paying attention, the kid could get locked in without anyone knowing.

I am sure that the mother was far from upset. And thank goodness the police were able to break the glass.

[Kyla Kym]

Originally posted by julie_angel
I cannot believe how stupid! How stupid can a person be?????:( :mad: :( :mad: :( :mad:
I was always accused of being to over protective of my son, so I notice the stupid parent's more because I don't understand why they don't think of the dangers before they do stupid stuff like that.

Her being 35 doesn't nessacerly make her a (should be) wiser parent. If this is her first child then she is learning to be a parent just like the younger moms are. Also someone in that age range would have been a child when things that make people gasp now would have been perfectly expectable. Like riding in the back of pickup trucks. I can remember always doing that as a child. Everyone did! My cousin Shanna even rolled off the tool boxes once onto the hwy. That was soooooo dangerous, sitting on the tool boxes in the back of pickup trucks, but yet our parents all let us do it. We were left in parked cars too allot as children. Seat belts were for sissy's no one I knew wore them. We were allowed to stand up in the seats, I can remember laying behind the back seat in the window looking up at the stars at night when we would be driving home from somewhere. We ran wild too, our parents never really knew where we were. They just knew we were with the rest of the kids in the neighborhood somewhere playing. And if we got caught doing something wrong and a neighbor seen us, they were expected to spank us if we needed it. No one wore protective gear when riding a bike or anything else with wheels, that would have been grounds to be called a sissy too. I could go on and on about how different it is now. So a 35 year old mom might not be a bit wiser when it comes to safety if she hasn't been around children since she was one herself. I'm not defending her, only wondering why none of the other people said anything to her before the accident. Because they all rushed over there to help so it wasn't like they just didn't care.

[farmmnger]

I don't have any kids, but this really upsets me. So many people can't have children and this lady treats her child that way. Her behavior is awful and hope her child is taken away from her. I just don't understand how someone could do this to a innocent child.

[stresseater]

Seems to me that she was just playing with her kid and it was an acident. At least that is what I choose to believe. This mentallity of take her kids away is rediculas. As parents we ALL make mistakes and the DHS's of the world have NOT proven to be able to take care of kids any better than the poor parents they take them away from. If protective custody was actually able to do a better job with the kids that would be one thing but thy don't,and unless the kid(s) are in immenant danger of being abuse(not mistreated) then they should leave families and their kids alone. I personally resent the fact that the government thinks they can raise kids better than the natural parents.:mad: :mad: :mad: OK flames away!

[momfromTN]

I will not flame you, but I do think she needs some time to think about how stupid she was.

[Widgetsx3]

Mistreatment can be just as detrimental as abuse, and frankly I don't see a difference....not flaming...JMHO

[suziebee20]

I agree it was a dumb mistake, but I beleive it may be an honest accident. Flame me all you want, but my ex's mom put her son in a front loading washer (didn't shut the door though!!!) just to play with him... he was 4, and didn't take his bath like she thought he did while she was out and his dad watched him, she joked "Your dirty, how about we wash you here...". He thought it was funny, cause he knew she was playing, she just stuck him in for a second, but of course she wouldn't shut the door... it would be hard to breath in one of them things also I'm assuming.

Did they get any witnesses on this to say if the child was laughing of screaming when she tried to stick her in? Because I'm also thinking if bystanders thought something was going to happen, they would have stopped it.

[Widgetsx3]

I have been to laundramats...they require money to start....they have signs posted that the washers lock until cycles are complete. I honestly do not see how this could be a "game" you don't play with your child's life. And bystanders have been known to watch people die, students beat each other and parents watch while another beats a child....people do odd things in circumstances that require action. Some step up to the plate...others "Don't want to get involved" I just don't see the "fun" if this was a "game"

[Missysmom]

I don't think they would have arrested her if they thought it was an unfortunate accident while playing with the child. Her Bail is $100K

What Mother would put her own child in a washer and close the door??
I'd love to hear her story..

[mesue]

It sounds like to me the Mom was playing a game with the child to keep her close by and mistakenly started the wrong washer, true it was stupid but when you are trying to keep one close by and working at the same time and in a hurry stupid mistakes can happen.

[suzziq03]

I read this earlier, and I still cant belive it. My 3 yr old tries to sit in the dryer at home, and im on her rear end as soon as her foot get in, and my dryer door is broken so it doesnt even shut right, but I want her to be aware of the dangers. I do not know this woman from a hole in the ground, so I do not want to pass judgement on her, I have done that way to oftain lately. But I would like to understand what she was doing and why,.... I mean, did she shut the wrong door? did someone, unknown to her, put change in that washer before she got there and didnt need it afterall or did she put the change in? was she intertaining the child and trying to play peekaboo or something? or was she just downright mean and wanted to get rid of the child? If someone paniced about their child being locked in there I dont think that she intentionally ment to do any harm to her child. But like I said, I dont know this woman, therefor I can not say yay or nay on this. Its sad that It did happen, and that the little girl will have to live with the fact that it did happen and it was her mother that did it. and I hope in the end it all turns out alright for the child. :(

[*StarDust*]

OMG what a sick Bi**h:mad: I can't believe some people can do such mean things to their kids:(:mad:

[Widgetsx3]

From Fox:

An officer smashed the window of the machine with his baton to rescue the girl, who was "submerged in water," police Sgt. Matt Stone of Pomona, Calif., said.

The child was unconscious when she was pulled from the washer Saturday but breathing. She was taken to a hospital where she was listed in serious condition with cuts, scrapes, bruises. She had inhaled some water but was expected to survive, Stone said.

Her mother, Erma Osborne, 35, of Pomona, later was arrested for investigation of child endangerment and held on $10,000 bail.
************************************************** **************
Surveillance camera footage showed that the woman placed her daughter in one washer, then removed her and placed her in a second front-loading washer, which turned on when she closed the door, Stone said.
************************************************** ***************
"She wasn't drowned but she was getting there," Los Angeles County fire Capt. Dan Ramirez said.

[Kyla Kym]

Originally posted by Widgetsx3
And bystanders have been known to watch people die, students beat each other and parents watch while another beats a child....people do odd things in circumstances that require action. Some step up to the plate...others "Don't want to get involved" I just don't see the "fun" if this was a "game"
True, but these bystanders proved to be concerned because they were trying to get the child out. They didn't just stand by and watch. So if these same people that did care enough to try and help get the child out was standing by watching the mother for whatever reason she put her child in the washer didn't say a word to her. It makes me think for some strange reason they didn't feel a need to stop the woman. This is the main reason I think she might have been playing with her.

You said you don't see the fun in it if it was a game. That is because you aren't a 2 year old. A small child will laugh their heads off when you pitch them way up in the air and catch them. They are to young to know or see the danger, they only see that a parent is playing with them.


I don't think they would have arrested her if they thought it was an unfortunate accident while playing with the child. Her Bail is $100K
I think they would. She almost killed her child. Even if she didn't mean to. The reason I say this is because just like a a drunk driver that is stupid enough to get behind the wheel and ends up killing another person. I'm sure killing someone was the last thought on their mind. But they have to pay the price for what they done.

I don't go to laundry mats, so I don't know how the coin thingy works on them. I haven't been in one since I was a small child. But if they are like a coke machine sometimes the change jams and will fall on threw later on so the next person that walks by and just hits one of the buttons it will shoot out a drink. The coke machine at my store was bad to hang up like that. So someone would lose change at night and the next person got a free drink. Could this be a possibility with the washing machine change slot?

Sorry I keep trying to find other reasons this might have happened. But I just hate beating someone down and kicking them in the head until I know for sure they really truly deserve it. I think she made a very stupid mistake, and should have to pay for what she did. But I don't think she intended to hurt her child on purpose.

Widgetsx3, the article on CNN is similar to that one.

[Widgetsx3]

I agree that there may be a chance she was playing with the child...I just think that it was a STUPID game.....kind of like teaching your child to jump off the roof onto the pool...may be fun...until someone gets hurt.....a 35 yr old woman should know better than to teach a young child to go into enclosed places that are NOT toys. As parents it is our job to teach kids what is a game and what isn't. Boundaries have to be set...and putting a small child into a washing machine crosses one (IMHO)

You may be right that she didn't mean to hurt her child on purpose....but somethings are obvious....Never ever put your child into a washer or dryer and shut the door falls into that catagory at least IMHO

[Kyla Kym]

Something else that comes to mind is, I wonder what the mother's mental health is like? You do know mentally retarded people are allowed to raise children? I know this for a fact. My uncle had one of the childhood fevers that fry's your brain enough to make you retarded. He seemed normal until you got to talking to him for a while then you could tell something just wasn't right. He married a woman that is mentally retarded (not as badly as he is) and they raised a child. The child was normal.

[Widgetsx3]

True....it could be an issue as to mental IQ....just seems like a no brainer to me...there could be extenuating circumstances....I will conceed that. You hate to think the worst of a person...but when it comes to kids....it just pains me

[Kyla Kym]

Yes, I understand. It doesn't help the way the paper wrote it up either. They have written it as a way to shock & anger people. And they accomplished just that. I think they should have at least reported what the mother's response was to what happen. I also think they should have asked the bystanders what they seen happen. At least then the readers would know the facts instead of jumping to conclusions and just guessing as to what happen. Please let us know what happens with this. I'm curious to find out the rest of the story.

[Widgetsx3]

I will keep you posted!

[chocolatelover]

You can read this on cnn but it hasn't been updated as of yet. Possibly later.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/05/25/washing.rescue.ap/index.html

If anyone has video access (realone-pay subscription) they do have the video of it. I won't pay for that as I am sure it is on the news, just haven't watched the news!

I forgot to add :( :( :( :( :(

[Carmen42]

all I can think about is the trauma that the little girl has been through. How frightening.

[Kyla Kym]

Child In Stable Condition After Rescue From Washing Machine


POMONA, Calif., 8:52 a.m. PDT May 26, 2003 - A 2-year-old girl was in stable but guarded condition after being pulled from a locked, running washing machine, and the girl's mother remained in jail after allegedly placing her there, police said.

"The infant's going to make it," police Sgt. A.C. Cox said Sunday.

Erma Osborne, 35, of Pomona, was arrested for investigation of child endangerment and was being held on $100,000 bail.

Officers were called to Lucy's Laundromat at 5:25 p.m. on Saturday after frantic efforts by the girl's mother and bystanders to unlock the door failed.

Police had to smash the front window of the washer with a baton to rescue the girl, who was submerged in water.



"I pulled my baton, and I did like a baseball swing and broke the glass," police Officer Willie Morataya told reporters.

The girl was taken to a hospital where she was initially listed in serious condition with cuts, scrapes, bruises. She had inhaled some water, Sgt. Matt Stone said.

Pomona police Sgt. Matt Stone said the little girl was "submerged in water," before she was pulled from the washing machine but was still breathing.

"Somebody looked at the washing machine and saw the baby was in there," said one witness.

Surveillance camera footage showed that the woman placed her daughter in one washer, then removed her and placed her in a second front-loading washer, which turned on when she closed the door, Stone said.

"I don't believe what the camera says," the girl's grandmother, Mary Osborne, told reporters.

Friends and neighbors expressed shock and disbelief.

"She wouldn't do anything like that. That's not Erma," neighbor John Herring told reporters. "She's a nice, loving mother who takes care of her kids."

The 2-year-old girl is expected to make a full recovery. She joins a group of Southland children in high-profile laundry accidents, including a boy whose family won a $4 million lawsuit against a washing machine manufacturer after the boy's arm was severed in 1995.

[Widgetsx3]

Well....this makes no mention of the mental IQ of this woman...so I assume that she is fully functional.....


"Somebody looked at the washing machine and saw the baby was in there," said one witness.

This makes it sound as if someone noticed the child in there...not that the mother was frantic and that is what caught their attention.

I will be interested to hear how this all plays out...thank you for the update Kyla Kym

[Kyla Kym]

Originally posted by Widgetsx3


I will be interested to hear how this all plays out...thank you for the update Kyla Kym

I looked through about 20 major online new papers this morning and they all basicly said the same thing.
But I did find one in the UK that had something different in it. I don't know why the UK would have more info on this story than the US does but they also had this to offer about the story.

Eyewitness Janinie Amaya said: “No one saw the girl get in the machine, we just heard her mum screaming hysterically and rushed over.

“It was horrible, the machine was going full cycle and you could see the little girl going round and round. People were crying and trying to get her out but the machine wouldn’t stop.”

Police Sgt Joe Weltman said: “I’ve never had to deal with anything like this in my whole career.

“It was quite shocking. The girl was in there for a good few minutes.”



So if this is true, it explains why the bystanders didn't try to stop her. They didn't see her put the child in.

[Widgetsx3]

No matter how this whole thing plays out....the one thing that is certain is that this poor little girl was hurt. That in and of itself is very sad.

[Missysmom]

Just saw the news, the mother put her daughter in the washing machine and turned it on.
According to the news, how the father and mother first met each other was in a "Mentally Handicapped Facility". They have 3 other children.

[midniteblu2]

What was that woman THINKING????

[KimNRandy]

Originally posted by Missysmom
According to the news, how the father and mother first met each other was in a "Mentally Handicapped Facility". They have 3 other children.

That's a little more understandable. Hopefully in the future, she will have some help in taking care of her kids and learning what is "safe play".

[Missysmom]

Originally posted by Fireball
I wonder if they tried to unplug the machine?

That's what I asked in an earlier post.. When it showed the laundromat on tv the machines are all lined up against the wall,(Like the dryers) so it looks like they couldn't be moved too easily. They were the big machines with a front open see-thru door. The washing machine looked like a dryer to me.