mother is not the right word for this lady

ak_in_ak

This is an article from my local paper. I am still fuming about it and honestly can not undertand how a mother could do this to thier children!

http://newsminer.com/view/full_story/17347146/article-Fairbanks-woman-charged-after-leaving--children-in-stuck-car-as-temps-hovered-below--28?instance=home_news_window_left_top_2


Fairbanks woman charged after leaving children in stuck car as temps hovered below -28


by Sam Friedman/sfriedman@newsminer.com

Jan 31, 2012 | 10414 views | 35 | 12 | |


FAIRBANKS — A Fairbanks woman is facing felony charges for allegedly leaving two young children in a vehicle Friday morning in temperatures far below zero.

At 7:26 a.m., Alaska State Troopers responded to a report of two apparently abandoned children in a black Mercury sedan stuck in a ditch on Chena Point Road at Dolphin Way, according to a criminal complaint filed Sunday. Inside the vehicle were a 3-year-old and 4-year-old, one dressed in a tank top and shorts, the other in a diaper, troopers said. Troopers were not immediately able to locate the children’s parents and turned them over to the state Office of Children’s Service.

The temperature was colder than 28 below at the time the children were found, troopers said.

About noon on Friday, troopers spoke with the children’s mother, 25-year-old Kristin Smith. She told troopers she became stuck in the ditch and left the children in the vehicle while she walked a quarter mile to her husband’s home. There, she took some prescription medication and fell asleep, never returning to the vehicle, according to the complaint.

When troopers confronted her about the risks of leaving children out in the cold, Smith said her children could have walked to her husband’s house if they got cold, according to the complaint. Troopers said she appeared confused at times and walked with a staggering gait.

It was not clear from the criminal complaint whether the vehicle’s engine was left on when the children were found inside. The trooper who responded to the scene was not immediately available to answer questions because he was not on duty Monday afternoon.

Smith is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child as well as misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment. She has no previous criminal record in Alaska, according to the Alaska Court System website.

She was arraigned Sunday and is scheduled to next appear in court next week.

Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Fairbanks woman charged after leaving children in stuck car as temps hovered below 28