A Santa Rosa woman was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of causing a drug overdose in her 1-year-old toddler, the police department said on Wednesday.
At 5:17 a.m. on Tuesday, Santa Rosa Police officers were sent to a residence on Boyd Street for a toddler who was experiencing a medical emergency.
"We heard a loud banging on the door at 5:30 booming, screaming bad," said neighbor Frank Borba. "We came out. She had a baby in her arms, pretty much lifeless, so the neighbor and my fiancé started CPR."
When an officer arrived, he found a 1-year-old lying on the ground, unconscious and not breathing, police said. The officer saw an individual attempting CPR on the child and took over the CPR himself, police said. After about 15-20 seconds, the toddler began to breathe on her own. By then, emergency medical services arrived and transported the child to a local hospital.
According to police, based on interviews and evidence obtained during the investigation, detectives believe that the toddler overdosed from exposure to fentanyl. The child is expected to recover.
The toddler's mother, a 39-year-old Santa Rosa resident, was arrested on suspicion of felony child abuse with serious injury.
“People need to not expose their children to such a terrible, traumatic lifestyle,” said neighbor Karla.
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The Santa Rosa Police Department said this is the third fentanyl-related overdose of a child that the department has seen in 12 months.
On May 9, 2022, a 1-year-old died of a fentanyl overdose on the 800 block of Sonoma Avenue. The parents were arrested and charged with murder and felony child endangerment, police said.
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That same year, on Aug. 10, a 3-month-old baby died of a fentanyl overdose at the hospital. In this case, the parents were also arrested for felony child endangerment, police said.
"Illegal use of fentanyl is dangerous for adults to consume and lethal for children," said a spokesperson from the department. "Two milligrams are considered a lethal dose of fentanyl for an adult."
