Local mom fears daughter was poisoned by antifreeze

PITTSBURGH — A local mom fears her daughter was poisoned by antifreeze, and she contacted Channel 11's Amy Marcinkiewicz to warn others about the dangers.

"They were able to get her heart going again and take her to ICU, but we had no idea what was going on," said Leslie Smith.

Leslie Smith will never forget the day her daughter's life changed forever –- Oct. 24, 2011.

"She had been poisoned with antifreeze.  It was the highest (amount) anyone had ever seen," said Smith.

Brooke Smith was a person with special needs before the incident, but she could walk, talk, lived at home and had a job.  Now, Brooke Smith lives in a skilled care facility and needs around-the-clock care.

"It was bad.  They said upwards of a half gallon.  We were going, 'There is no way.  We can't even get her to drink a full glass of juice.'  That's when we thought, 'Could someone have been poisoning her?'" said Leslie Smith. 

Leslie Smith went to local police and then to Allegheny County police.  They believed it wasn't a crime and Brooke drank the antifreeze on accident.  Leslie Smith doesn't believe that.   

"I don't think parents realize antifreeze is sweet and tastes like Kool-Aid. I don't want anybody else to go through this ever.  It's not fair," said Leslie Smith.

[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
The Humane Society estimates 90,000 animals die each year from ingesting antifreeze.

Seventeen states now have laws requiring antifreeze makers to add a bitter-tasting additive, so it's not so sweet.

WPXI