MARION COUNTY, FL (WESH/CNN) – A baby in Florida is recovering from a skull fracture after police say his mother dropped him while running through traffic.
The incident had even veteran sheriff’s deputies in disbelief: A woman who appeared to be on drugs was darting in and out of traffic while holding a baby.
"She was acting very erratically, running in and out of cars. Barking at cars, as some witnesses referred to. And she had a very young child in her hands,” said Lauren Lettelier with the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
It happened Monday on East Highway 40, according to authorities.
A deputy’s body camera video shows 23-year-old Kayla Morgan holding a baby.
"She thought the deputy was a monster who was going to suck out her blood. I mean, that's what these drugs do to people,” Lettelier said.
Deputies said Morgan started walking in front of cars when they tried to stop her. She then started running from deputies, and eventually dropped her baby head first on the side of the highway.
"So, she was running away from the deputy, and you could see her running off the road and running into the grass.” Lettelier said. “You can see the baby falling to the ground, and it is quite disturbing to see."
Once arrested, deputies said Morgan told them she had taken meth and other drugs.
Morgan’s mother said her daughter has been dealing with postpartum depression and an abusive relationship, and that she loves her son more than “life itself.”
But now, the infant is in the hospital with a skull fracture from the fall.
In the meantime, Morgan is facing charges of aggravated child abuse and resisting an officer.
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