Ashlynn Elizabeth Taylor, a 20-year-old woman from Tennessee, allegedly left her 1-year-old child alone in a sweltering car for hours after she got “extremely intoxicated” while celebrating her birthday the previous evening.
Police took Taylor into custody and charged her with one count of felony child abuse, neglect and endangerment of a child under 8 and one count of felony leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle, court records show.
Police responded to a call at a home in the 1300 block of Woodcrest Drive Monday morning after a man discovered Taylor asleep inside a vehicle belonging to his family, according to a report from local CBS affiliate WVLT.
When officers arrived at the address, they spoke with Taylor, who said she had been celebrating her 20th birthday the previous night and became “extremely intoxicated.” She allegedly said that she did not remember how she wound up in the vehicle, which she confirmed was not hers.
Taylor’s friend told investigators that the defendant called her just before 3 a.m. and initially asked the friend for money before requesting to be picked up. Taylor, who was reportedly intoxicated at the time, had the 1-year-old with her.
The friend drove Taylor and the child back to Taylor’s home, but once there, Taylor reportedly refused to get out of the car. The friend initially took the baby inside the house, but when the baby began crying, she brought the child back outside to Taylor, local NBC affiliate WBIR reported. The friend also said that she cracked the windows of the car before turning off the ignition.
About 8 a.m. the following day, the friend’s sister was on her way to school when she reportedly discovered that the baby was now alone in the car. Unable to find Taylor, someone contacted Taylor’s grandmother to come get the child.
When officers later asked Taylor where her child was, she allegedly told them the baby was with her friend.
Taylor had apparently left the vehicle and ended up asleep in a neighbor’s car while her child remained behind.
Following a preliminary investigation, police reportedly determined that Taylor had exited the vehicle about 6 a.m., leaving her baby alone until 8 a.m. During that period, the heat index reached 88 degrees with humidity at 72%, according to court records.
A neighbor’s daughter reportedly found Taylor sleeping in the family’s car shortly after she found the baby.
Taylor is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, records show.
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