CARNEGIE, Pa. — A 2-year-old girl was taken to the hospital after consuming her babysitter’s THC gummy, according to court documents.
Heather Eitel faces one count of “endangering welfare of children” following the incident, which was reported to police in Carnegie on Aug. 18.
According to the criminal complaint, Eitel was watching the child at her home on Beechwood Avenue. She told police that she has a prescription for the gummies and had left them on a table within her bedroom. The little girl was reportedly in a playpen as Eitel went to the bathroom. When she returned, “she discovered the child had gotten out” and “got into the container that held the gummy,” documents say.
Eitel called for help, and the child was taken to the hospital via ambulance shortly before 2 p.m.
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“The little girl is fine. I spoke with the parents. She was taken to Children’s Hospital the night of the incident,” said Carnegie Police Lt. Dennis Lawrence. “She’s doing well.”
Channel 11 went to Eitel’s home on Wednesday, but she had no comment. We later spoke with her attorney, Sean Logue.
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“Trust me, nobody feels more bad about the situation than she does. She’s mortified by it,” said Logue. “This is a very reputable person. She has no prior criminal record whatsoever. ... She’s doing everything she can to rectify the situation. She’s a very well-respected local babysitter for the neighborhood kids.”
A Carnegie Code Enforcement official told Channel 11 that legally, babysitters can only watch up to three children before needing a license. Eitel did not have one, the official told us, and police reported that more than three children were in the home when officers were called.
“We know that there were several other children in the home at the time,” Lawrence said. “At this time, she may have been running an unlicensed daycare center in a residential area.”
Logue, however, disputed that, saying, “We’re not calling this a daycare. This is more of a babysitting service for the local kids.”
Eitel is due in court for a preliminary hearing next month.
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