UTICA, NY (WKTV/CNN) – Police have charged a 9-month-old baby’s mother with endangering the welfare of a child after the boy was found by strangers as he was crawling on a busy street.
Utica Police say they became aware Friday night of a Facebook video that shows several strangers finding a 9-month-old boy in the middle of the street as cars approach.
The baby can be heard crying, while the motorists try to comfort him. One picks him up, another goes to call 911 and a third films the scene.
As the motorist starts talking to 911, a woman can be heard calling, “That’s my baby.”
Based on the video, police initiated an investigation.
After searching for the mother and child for several hours, officers found them at a home about five blocks from where the baby was seen crawling.
The mother was identified as 27-year-old Ledrica Ford.
In a statement released Saturday morning, police say Ford told officers she and a relative were not sure how her 9-month-old ended up on the street.
Ford told the officers the infant was secured in the rear of a vehicle she was also in as they drove away, but a short time later, she says she looked to the back seat and found the child wasn’t there.
The two immediately returned to the initial location, where they located the baby.
Police officers and Child Protective Services met with Ford for about two hours Saturday afternoon before the baby and her three other young children were taken away.
Ford is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. She is due in court March 23.
WARNING: The embedded Facebook video includes language that may offend some viewers.
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