Newborn boy allegedly tossed out car window in North Lauderdale

[mrsswede]

Newborn boy allegedly tossed out car window in North Lauderdale
Thursday, February 10, 2005


NORTH LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) A baby believed to be only a few hours old was thrown from a car onto a street this afternoon in South Florida.

The Broward Sheriff's Office says the boy was rescued by a passing driver. The infant was taken to a nearby a nearby sheriff's office and then by helicopter to a hospital. His condition was upgraded from critical to serious early this evening evening.

Authorities say the baby still had the placenta attached.

Doctors believe the boy may have been born as recently as this morning. Police are searching for two eyewitnesses who are said to have been near the scene this afternoon when the infant was thrown from a car window.

North Lauderdale is 13 miles northwest of Fort Lauderdale.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All right reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed



What next????!!!

[Lora_1994]

that poor poor baby. I hope they find his parents and the lock them up for good.

People like that have no right to breathe the same air we breathe.

[irrelevant0]

:eek: wth? why not take the baby to an adoption agency? :mad: hope he makes it through without any permanent damage.

[wndysfrnd]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/media/photo/2005-02/16242961.jpg

Miracle baby
The newborn boy, who was thrown from a car in North Lauderdale Thursday, appears to be unharmed. The baby was rescued by a woman passing by the scene in her car.
(AP/Broward County Sheriff's Office)

Feb 11, 2005

Police search for mother of newborn tossed out of car

By Rafael A. Olmeda And Kevin Smith
Staff Writers
Posted February 10 2005, 9:05 PM EST

North Lauderdale -- A man and woman tied a newborn baby in a plastic bag and tossed him out of a car before driving off Thursday afternoon, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.

The baby survived, apparently unharmed, after landing on grass.









Sheriff's spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said the infant boy, who was only about an hour old when he was tossed out of a white sedan, was a "miracle child" who suffered no broken bones, scratches or bruises.

"He's being listed in critical condition as a precaution, but we're hoping he'll be upgraded soon," she said late Thursday.

A woman driving behind the car at about 2:15 p.m. saw it slow down near the corner of Southwest 73rd Avenue and Southwest 8th Court in North Lauderdale, Coleman-Wright said. Either the woman in the passenger seat or the male driver tossed the baby out the passenger side window.

Quoting the witness, whom he would not name, Sheriff Ken Jenne said the car may have still been moving, slowly, when the baby was discarded. Another witness, Rashad Land, 10, said the car came to a complete stop first.

"I thought I was dreaming," said Land, who was walking to a nearby Boys and Girls Club to play basketball. He said he heard the man and the woman in the car arguing before the baby was ejected.

"I thought they were yelling at me, and I was a little scared," Land said. "Then I thought they were yelling about the baby."

After the car drove off, the adult witness approached the bundle and saw that it was a baby boy wrapped in a plastic bag, Jenne said. She took the baby out of the bag and wrapped him in towels she had in her own car. She then drove to the sheriff's North Lauderdale district office on Southwest 71st Avenue, a half-mile away.

She did not get the tag number of the car, said Coleman-Wright. "Naturally her concern was to try to figure out what was tossed out of the car," she said.

The baby was flown by helicopter to the hospital.

North Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Chief Rodney Turpel said there were no open wounds or abrasions from the impact of being tossed from the car, and he noted the umbilical cord was still attached to the baby. His birth was "very recent," Turpel said. "An hour, two hours. But not much longer than that."

Turpel said the state's Safe Haven law would have allowed the mother to drop the infant off with firefighters or hospital employees, with no questions asked.

"It's a program intended to give parents an alternative, so they can take the child to a fire station, rather than do what they did today, or worse," Turpel said.

The baby appeared to have been carried to term, weighing 8 pounds, 2 ounces.

"This was truly a miracle child," said Coleman-Wright.

The adult witness described the driver of the sedan as a black man with a three-inch Afro, and the passenger as a white woman. Both appeared to be in their late teens or early 20s. Coleman-Wright said there was no way of knowing whether the woman was the child's mother, but urged her to come forward.

"It's a frightening statement about how our society works, that someone would disregard and discharge their child." Jenne said. He later said, noting the lack of serious injuries, "obviously, someone was watching over this child."

If identified, both people inside the car could face criminal charges, Jenne said. "We want to talk to them before we discuss any charges, but we could be talking about abandonment to the possibility of attempted murder."

Barbara Grelling, a licensed clinical psychologist in Plantation who is an expert on postpartum depression, said the possibility of depression cannot be ruled out, even though the baby was a newborn.

"We're becoming more and more aware of depression manifested during pregnancy and immediately after," she said.

The mother's youth and the presence of another person who didn't want the baby were also possible factors, she said.

[msmom79]

too sad.i'll take the baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!oh my gosh oh my gosh! i dont understand why people do this stuff. im so glad the baby is okay and i sure hope he doesnt have any problems in the furture!!

[irrelevant0]

he is adorable. :D i am so glad to hear he isn't hurt, as far as they can tell.

[DAVESBABYDOLL]

HE'S BEAUTIFUL!

Angels were with him,so glad the lady stoped to check things out.


never ask "what next"

[tsquared]

He is a cutie.............how could anyone be so insensitive????

[LazyTimeGirl]

What a beautiful baby. Hopefully he will be adopted to a wonderful loving and caring family.

[sahmsfreeb]

florida has that drop off law...
you have 3 days to dropp of a child no questions asked...


sad... very sad.........

[schsa]

We do not value our children. We don't make them a priority. Why would anyone throw a baby out of a car window?? People are insane!!

[reford]

I would take that baby in, in a heartbeat. Those parents need to be locked up. People that heartless, that insensitive, don't deserve the right to procreate. I don't buy that business about postpartum depression being the cause. BOTH parents didn't have it. And they could've dropped him off no questions asked at a fire station or hospital. They wanted him to die. That is MESSED UP.

[joni1269]

That baby is just flat out precious. My stomach turns to think someone could have so little regard for human life.

[Njean31]

I don't buy that business about postpartum depression being the cause. BOTH parents didn't have it.

They wanted him to die.

.

that's the truth. they didn't BOTH have it. this is a case of evil
:mad:

[llbriteyes]

Well, it just sounds fishy to me. First of all, it may not have been both parents who threw the baby out. Could have been a friend of the woman.

Second, look at that picture of the baby. Do you see any bruises, casts (for broken bones), or scraps? If you're traveling on a highway and someone throws something out of a window, can you actually tell exactly what it is in that split second?

Actually, as I'm writing this, I'm listening to the news. The authority from Florida (I missed his name, but he's from the police department) said that the baby was thrown from a car on a *highway.* How on earth can you tell, traveling at speed on a highway exactly what was thrown and where it landed? People throw trash out all the time. Is it possible to tell what fast food restaurant it comes from?

Just some thoughts.

Linda

[Willow]

That is so sad. :( I don't understand why people do that especially when they have a place to bring the baby if they don't want it.

[Bud_Girl76]

We do not value our children. We don't make them a priority. Why would anyone throw a baby out of a car window?? People are insane!!


Your always saying that a lot that WE don't value our children .. Speak for yourself I DO VALUE my Children and yes they are a priority.. ;)

[Victorious]

Well, it just sounds fishy to me. First of all, it may not have been both parents who threw the baby out. Could have been a friend of the woman.

Second, look at that picture of the baby. Do you see any bruises, casts (for broken bones), or scraps? If you're traveling on a highway and someone throws something out of a window, can you actually tell exactly what it is in that split second?

Actually, as I'm writing this, I'm listening to the news. The authority from Florida (I missed his name, but he's from the police department) said that the baby was thrown from a car on a *highway.* How on earth can you tell, traveling at speed on a highway exactly what was thrown and where it landed? People throw trash out all the time. Is it possible to tell what fast food restaurant it comes from?

Just some thoughts.

Linda

FROM WHAT I HEARD ON THE NEWS

The lady that saw this happen said the driver was only going about 5 mph when the women threw something out the window. The eyewitness thought it was a puppy. The people seemed to be arguing

[Blondiex46]

they will have these people by the end of the day, I bet. They must want to be caught, I mean in broad daylight in the morning lots of people around, comeone. The baby will be very well taken care of and hopefully Florida doesn't screw this one up...

[Blondiex46]

the car was going very slow and after they threw him out the witness saw something moving and walked over to it.

[wndysfrnd]

Well, it just sounds fishy to me. First of all, it may not have been both parents who threw the baby out. Could have been a friend of the woman.

Second, look at that picture of the baby. Do you see any bruises, casts (for broken bones), or scraps? If you're traveling on a highway and someone throws something out of a window, can you actually tell exactly what it is in that split second?

Actually, as I'm writing this, I'm listening to the news. The authority from Florida (I missed his name, but he's from the police department) said that the baby was thrown from a car on a *highway.* How on earth can you tell, traveling at speed on a highway exactly what was thrown and where it landed? People throw trash out all the time. Is it possible to tell what fast food restaurant it comes from?

Just some thoughts.

Linda


Quote from what I posted last night.


Quoting the witness, whom he would not name, Sheriff Ken Jenne said the car may have still been moving, slowly, when the baby was discarded. Another witness, Rashad Land, 10, said the car came to a complete stop first.

[dangitall]

Police say they've found mother of baby tossed from car


http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/11/newborn.tossed/index.html

[Tasha405]

Police say they've found mother of baby tossed from car
Friday, February 11, 2005 Posted: 1:09 PM EST (1809 GMT)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (CNN) -- Authorities have located the birth mother of the baby tossed from a moving vehicle Thursday in Florida, Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne said Friday.

Authorities said the baby is in remarkably good shape in a hospital.

Jenne told reporters a woman had been questioned in connection with the case.

"It is my belief ... that this person is the birth mother of the child. It puts a whole new light on the story as we're going forward and we will proceed. But we do believe at this point, or at least I believe from the information our detectives have, that ... we will soon have an admission to the birth of the child," he said.

The 8-pound, 2-ounce boy was only hours old when he was tossed from a car in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, and still had his umbilical cord attached, authorities said.

A woman who brought the baby to police told the Broward Sheriff's Office that she was driving about 2:30 p.m. in a residential area in northern Fort Lauderdale when she saw a man and a woman who appeared to be in their late teens or early 20s arguing in a car. The car slowed to about 5 miles an hour and a bundle flew out of the window and landed about three feet away on grass by the road, she said.

She saw movement and stopped, expecting to find puppies or kittens. Instead, she found a tiny baby boy.

"The baby had a plastic bag over its head," said Jenne, "a plastic bag like from a food store ... wrapped around the head of the baby."

The baby was flown via helicopter to Broward Medical Center in critical condition but "was later upgraded to serious and continues to improve" in the hospital's neonatal care unit, according to a statement from the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Authorities released a description of the couple in the car and are asking for the public's help in finding them.

According to the Broward Sheriff's Office: "Just prior to the newborn being tossed out of the car, the female witness observed the black male driver with an Afro hairstyle and white female passenger with braids arguing." They were in an older model white car, perhaps a Ford Crown Victoria.

While lamenting that a parent would do such a thing to an infant, Jenne said, "The good news is that we have a human being ... someone in this community who has the heart and soul to pick up a baby and save it."

[Cessie]

It was all a lie - the woman who "found" the baby is actually the mother. The baby was never thrown out of a car. Press conference on now


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6952633/

[sahmsfreeb]

http://www.foxnews.com/

Police: Disturbed mom made up 'tossed baby' story


Tossed Baby Story a Hoax, Samaritan Is Mom
Friday, February 11, 2005

PHOTOS

Click image to enlarge
STORIES
•Newborn Tossed Out Car Window in Florida
NORTH LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The story of a baby who a good samaritan said had been tossed out of a moving vehicle was all a hoax, police said Friday, and the samaritan was in fact the baby's mother.

"The situation has become both happy and sad but it's not as horrible as we first thought," Broward County (search) Sheriff Ken Jenne told reporters, identifying the child as "Baby Johnny."

"The baby was never thrown out of a moving car. This is a case of a disturbed woman who gave birth and did not it," Jenne said.

Jenne identified the mother of the child as Patricia Pokriots, 38, who is now being held for psychiatric observation, Jenne said. The sheriff said the only crime she may be charged with is filing a false police report.

Earlier, police said the boy, believed to be less than an hour old, was thrown out of a car alongside a busy street Thursday afternoon. The 8-pound, 2-ounce boy, whose umbilical cord was still attached, survived with minor injuries and was hospitalized in good condition Friday.

State law lets a mother leave a baby at any medical facility or fire station within three days of birth without any questions asked.


mom doesnt deserve that baby!!!

[BigLyd1]

:confused: :confused:

[BabyFace04]

how sad

[Tadbit]

What a precious baby. Hopefully someone will give him a very good home. I just hope he never finds out the story behind his birth. :(

[latestdish]

I was going to say, even in extreme poverty, you would think that there was a better way than that one. Ugh. Even though not tossed literally, still pretty sick. Better off taking the kid to adoption agency, or applying for welfare/WIC, etc, than to risk the kid's safety giving birth the way she did. In this state, she'd still be locked up for endangering the welfare of a child. And I agree with the previous posters. Sick. That baby is an amazing miracle, who deserves a better start in life. Hope he finds the good home he deserves.

[schsa]

So the baby was never tossed. The woman who "found" the baby is the mother and she did this because she is messed up? So sad. I say that "We don't value our children" as in Society doesn't instill in all people the need to care for and protect all of our children. Not an individual but somewhere along the line there are people out there who believe that children are to be abused, can be starved to death, or just flushed down the toilet and they can feel that it wasn't wrong.

I am sure that this baby will be quickly adopted or put in a safe foster home. His mother needs some serious help.

[Tasha405]

This story is so very sad. :(

[DAVESBABYDOLL]

Wow

[Jolie Rouge]

Authorities say baby never tossed from car
Sheriff: Woman who reported incident is boy's mother
Friday, February 11, 2005 Posted: 3:50 PM EST (2050 GMT)

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/US/02/11/newborn.tossed/story.suspect.cnn.jpg

Patricia Pokriots


FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (CNN) -- A woman who reported seeing a newborn tossed out of a moving car made up the story and is the boy's mother, Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne said Friday. The woman didn't want her family to know about the child, Jenne said. Patricia Pokriots, 38, "made up an incredible story," Jenne said.

She was questioned Friday and acknowledged what she had done, he said. Jenne said the infant is healthy and doing well. He has no bruises or scratches.

Under Florida law, a parent or relative can turn a newborn over to authorities with no questions asked during the first three days of his or her life. "The only charge I can think of charging against [Pokriots] would be making a false police report," the sheriff said.

Pokriots learned she was pregnant a couple of months ago, he said. He described her as a large woman, noting that the pregnancy may not have shown as early as it may have on someone else. Pokriots was taken to a hospital Friday and committed for observation "at our urging," he said.

Authorities will seek court permission to take the infant as well as another son, who is 10, into state custody, he said. In her statement, she has made clear she wants to give up the infant, Jenne said.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office said the woman told authorities she was driving Thursday afternoon in a residential area of northern Fort Lauderdale when she saw a man and woman arguing in a car. A bundle flew out the window as the car slowed and landed on grass by the road, the woman told authorities, and she found a baby boy with a plastic bag over his head.

The baby was flown via helicopter to Broward Medical Center. The 8-pound, 2-ounce boy was only hours old and still had his umbilical cord attached, authorities said. But Jenne said there are no signs of medical problems. The infant is "absolutely perfect," he said.

Nurses nicknamed the boy "Johny" after his attending physician, Johny Tryzmel.

When Pokriots first turned the child in, she seemed nervous, Jenne said, but her behavior didn't seem unusual for someone who witnessed what she said she did. As authorities questioned her later on, they began to sense that her story was shaky, he said. Under questioning Friday, Pokriots acknowledged fabricating the story, Jenne said. She said she "gave birth in the bathroom of her mother's house at 1:30 on Thursday," he said. She said that she decided to drive to a fire station to leave the baby -- which is legal under the Florida law.

On the way, she saw two people in a white car arguing, and "she decided to build a story around it," Jenne said. Other witnesses saw the same couple in the same white car arguing, he said. "She pulled up to our district office and brought the baby inside," he said.

Pokriots works as a waitress at a bar and has a previous charge of aggravated battery, he said. Authorities said many people have called saying they want to adopt the infant, but they said he is not up for adoption now.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/11/newborn.tossed/index.html

[llbriteyes]

I KNEW it didn't sound right! Something just didn't ring true in what the police said on TV.

I hate to say I told you so...

I'm just glad the baby wasn't really hurt. Florida does have the three day period where mothers who don't want their babies can bring them to the hospital with no questions asked. I think most states have that. I know Ohio does too.

Linda

[purplerose23]

Here is another angle on the "Hoax" with the little ones picture! He is a cutie! Good thing he is ok!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6952633/

[tsquared]

Why would anyone even think of doing something that stupid................

[NiteQueen]

im in kansas an ive never heard of the drop off thing........

that is better then what i have heard of some women doing to their babies...

[irrelevant0]

stupid woman. would have been so much easier to drop him off ... i love that idea, i think it should be an option in all states.