Cops: Mom Put Infant on Roadside, Drove Away

Sandra McClary, 26, charged with child neglect, endangerment
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 6, 2015 12:21 PM CDT
Cops: Mom Put Infant on Roadside, Drove Away
Sandra McClary, 26, is charged with child neglect and reckless endangerment.   (Anne Arundel County Police Department)

Police have charged a Maryland mother with child neglect and reckless endangerment after she allegedly left her infant on the side of a Pasadena road, then drove away. A bishop found what police now say is a 6-week-old in a car seat carrier with a diaper bag nearby shortly before midnight on Saturday. "There was something in the road. It looked like somebody had left something there, so I slowed my vehicle down and looked," he tells CBS Baltimore. "It looked like it was a child in a carriage. … That's exactly what it was." The baby girl was taken to the hospital and treated for dehydration; she's now in good condition in the custody of Social Services, reports ABC News. Police say Sandra McClary, 26, called authorities yesterday claiming to be the child's mother after a police photo of the baby was shared more than 31,000 times on Facebook, per CNN.

Though she told police the baby was supposed to be with the child's father, officers say McClary's vehicle plate matched a partial tag of a vehicle said to be in the area around the time the child was left. "The baby was just crying so hard. It's a shame people would do something like that," said a woman who called police. Authorities say McClary, whose bail is set at $500,000, could face further charges of child abuse or child abandonment. CNN reports Maryland has safe-haven policies allowing parents to leave their children at fire stations, churches, and hospitals. "You can't leave a 2- to 3-month-old on the side of the road. End of story," an officer says. (More child neglect stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X