Video shows man police say overdosed on heroin with baby in back seat

NORTH BRADDOCK, Pa. — Newly released video shows a man officials say was passed out in a car from a heroin overdose with a baby in the back seat.

Officials said the man overdosed in the front seat of the car in North Braddock on Thursday. Police said heroin needles and stamp bags were found in the man’s lap.

Police said a neighbor heard a car engine revving in an alley called Grove Way. The neighbor walked out to find the man overdosed in the front seat and a baby boy in a car seat in the back.

The neighbor called police, who used Narcan and revived the man. Medics took him to McKeesport Hospital.

The child's mother picked up the boy at the North Braddock Police Department. The police chief said the boy is about 15 months old and was not hurt.

The FBI is involved in the investigation. A spokesman said officials will track the overdose and the batch of heroin. There was no immediate word on whether the child’s father would face charges.

The North Braddock police chief said a very lethal batch of heroin laced with fentanyl is circulating in the area.

Thursday’s incident was the latest in a string of public overdoses. In September, two people in Ohio were photographed while they were passed out on heroin with a child in the back seat.

“We need a solution for this. Today is a sad chapter in what will continue to be an ongoing saga,” Braddock Mayor John Fetterman told Channel 11 News. “When you have children being left alone because parents overdosed, it's the moment when we should all rally as a community.”

Fetterman said he hopes that the most recent cases involving children will send a message that something needs to be done sooner rather than later.

“Unfortunately, the kids are now collateral damage,” he said.

Neil Capretto, a medical director at Gateway Rehab, said it’s becoming more common for a child to witness a heroin overdose because many using the drug are also around the age to bear children.

He said it has long-lasting effects on the children.

“The parent is not emotionally available, not able to parent as well. So the child develops emotional scars with neglect,” he said.

Stay with Channel 11 News and WPXI.com for continuing coverage.

Oct. 20, 2016 post: 

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