Authorities arrested an 18-year-old mother in Oklahoma after her nine-month-old tested positive for opioids at a local hospital, police said.
Police arrested the mother, Maria Vasquez, on child endangerment and drug-related offenses after an Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) employee reported to authorities Sunday night that a child “nearly died” from a suspected instance of child abuse, KFOR reported.
The DHS employee said the nine-month-old came to the hospital after swallowing a piece of candy, but doctors found “no candy” had been “obstructing” the infant’s airway.
Police then interviewed Vasquez, who told officers she was sleeping at her brother’s girlfriend’s apartment when another brother informed her that her child’s lips turned blue.
Vasquez told police she believed her child was choking, so she had her sister dial 911 while she gave her child chest compressions.
Once the baby arrived at the hospital, officials tested her and found she tested positive for opioids. When officers asked Vasquez if she knew her daughter had been exposed, she denied having any knowledge of the incident.
Hospital staff said the nine-month-old also had scabies, bed bug bites, and lice, according to a police report.
The 18-year-old mother is currently in custody at the Oklahoma County Jail.
Vasquez is not the first mother to be accused of child endangerment over drugs found in an infant’s system.
WBTV reported in February that authorities arrested a 24-year-old South Carolina woman after officials found multiple narcotics in her four-month-old daughter’s system.
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