Friday, February 11, 2005

I heard this news story on the radio on my commute into work this morning.

NORTH LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A newborn boy — believed to be less than an hour old — survived being thrown from a moving car onto a swale alongside a busy street Thursday afternoon, Broward County sheriff’s officials said.
The car sped away, and investigators are seeking the parents of the eight-pound, two-ounce child whose umbilical cord was still attached when found by a woman passing by the scene.

Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Leljedal said the unidentified woman who found the baby brought him to a nearby sheriff’s office. The baby was taken to Broward General Medical Center, which upgraded his condition from critical to serious Thursday night.

“He’s doing remarkably well and we’re hopeful that he’ll recover,” Leljedal said.

Another sheriff’s spokeswoman, Veda Coleman-Wright, said Thursday night that the boy is improving. It was unclear what injuries the baby may have suffered from being thrown.

In the report I heard, they said that he had no broken bones, but was listed in serious condition.

Investigators are searching for a white, older-model large sedan that eyewitnesses observed leaving the scene. The woman who rescued the baby — which was inside a small plastic bag when tossed from the car — said she observed a man and woman arguing inside the vehicle.

The baby was thrown from the passenger side of the vehicle, landing three or four feet away in the grass. When the Good Samaritan approached what she thought was a package, it began to move and she realized a baby was inside.

Thank God that lady witnessed it and actually stopped to check on “the package.” I hate to think what might have happened to the baby if no one had found him for a while.

If you live in the North Lauderdale area, keep an eye out. These animals need to be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. My gut reaction is that justice would be having them thrown from a moving car, but that’s just me.

UPDATE (2:50pm): Turns out the mother is the one who “found” the baby along the side of the road, only the boy was never tossed out of a moving car in the first place. She made the story up.

I’m still waiting for a link. Here’s a link.