CPD: Drunk woman left friend’s baby in hot car

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The Charleston Police Department (CPD) on Wednesday arrested a woman who is accused of driving her friend’s baby home while drunk, then leaving the baby in a hot car while she went inside to nap.

According to the report, witnesses at the Palms Apartments on Royal Palm Boulevard saw an “extremely impaired” woman pull into the parking lot around 10:14 p.m. Witnesses told police that the woman — identified as Anita Smith — parked and got a baby out of the back seat, then put the baby back inside and went into an apartment.

The vehicle was off and all of the windows were up. CPD noted that it was 85 degrees with 85% humidity at the time.

Witnesses called police, but before police could arrive the baby’s mother showed up. She told officers that she was shopping at a nearby Publix when Smith left with her baby. The woman tried contacting Smith but was unsuccessful and had to make the 19-minute walk home.

Officers found smith passed out on the couch half naked. They noted that she smelled strongly of alcohol and it took several minutes to wake her up. Once she woke up, she began stumbling around the apartment and making incoherent statements.

She told officers that she had been drinking and her friend was driving her around because she was “not okay to drive.” She confirmed driving herself from Publix to the apartments.

After being arrested and refusing a breathalyzer test, Smith told officers that “it wasn’t that far of a drive” and she “wasn’t even that drunk,” according to the report.