NANTICOKE - A mother from Nanticoke is facing felony charges after her infant son overdosed on cocaine last month and nearly died, city police say.
Nanticoke police arrested 19-year-old Amber Morgan late Friday afternoon, charging her with endangering the welfare of a child.
The allegations stem from an incident on Jan. 8 when city paramedics were called to Ms. Morgan's mother's Church Street home for the report of the 12-month-old child having a seizure from an accidental prescription drug overdose. However, multiple toxicology screenings indicate the only drug in the baby's system was cocaine, police say.
"When a mother doesn't tell the truth to us to help her own child, that is very disturbing," Nanticoke police Chief William Shultz said. "The child could have died."
Ms. Morgan was arraigned late Friday afternoon by Magisterial District Judge Donald Whittaker, who ordered her taken to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $75,000 cash bail.
Chief Shultz said the child nearly died from the ordeal, spending days in critical condition in the hospital. He said Ms. Morgan initially tried to cover up the overdose, trying to induce the baby to vomit with a baking soda/apple juice cocktail for 30 minutes before calling 911.
"Those moments were very critical," Chief Shultz said.
Ms. Morgan still claims she doesn't know how the cocaine got in her baby's system, Chief Shultz said.
The child is now living with his father.
Contact the writer: bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com, @cvbobkal on Twitter