Drugged-out couple arrested after passing out with babies in car
A Florida couple were arrested after they apparently overdosed in their car on Wednesday while two babies sat in car seats.
William Ballard, 36, and Delaney Crissinger, 32, were captured slumped over in the Chevrolet SUV’s front seat in shocking footage taken by a customer at a gas station in Sarasota, Florida. They both were charged with child neglect.
Witnesses called 911 after they noticed the couple unconscious and surrounded by drugs, while a 5-month-old and 18-month-old were in the parked vehicle’s back seat, the Bradenton Herald reported.
According to police, they arrived at the scene to find the couple still asleep, with a syringe next to a container of baby formula at Crissinger’s feet.
The pair regained consciousness when a deputy opened the door, prompting Crissinger to try to hide a small plastic bag of what appeared to be crystal meth. She confessed to authorities that she had crystal meth and a pipe on her, but said she did not recall preparing the syringe that was on the floor of the vehicle.
A search of the SUV turned up a camera bag containing a spoon, scale, empty plastic bags and 12 bags of what is believed to be heroin.
Ballard said he started to sell heroin to make money after losing his job.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office could not confirm that the pair were the children’s parents, but said the tots were placed in the care of other family members.
“It’s a sad situation all around. You’ve got people that are committing crimes and using drugs, doing those things, then you have them bringing their kids along with them, creating other victims,” Sarasota Lt. Joe Giasone told news station WTVT. “Anyone that would leave kids in the back of the car when they have the amount of drugs that were in this car, it’s sad for the kids.”
In September, a Facebook photo captured another couple who passed out high on drugs in Ohio with kids in the car. The photo went viral after local authorities shared it on Facebook to show the impact of the community’s heroin epidemic.
“We feel it necessary to show the other side of this horrible drug,” the East Liverpool officials wrote. “We feel we need to be a voice for the children caught up in this horrible mess.”
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