Crying Baby Found Crawling Alone On Road; Mom Faces Charges

UTICA, NY — A woman in Utica is facing charges after a video of her baby crawling by itself in the middle of the road was posted to Facebook and brought to police's attention.

The video, posted on March 9, shows the toddler crawling in the middle of the road and crying. Strangers come to the baby's aid and one man asks another to call 911. He also asks someone to fetch a blanket from the back of his car before picking the child up. It's unclear how long the baby had been in the middle of the road.

Police in Utica say they started an investigation when the video was brought to their attention. After locating the mother and child, police said the mother, identified as 27-year-old Ledrika E. Ford, of Utica, said she wasn't sure how the 9-month-old child ended up on the road.

Police say Ford told officer the baby was sitting in the back of a car and was "secured" when they left a location on Bleecker Street. According to police, Ford told officers she was driving when she looked at the back seat after a while and found that the child was not there. A relative of Ford's was also in the car.

Ford and her relative immediately returned to the area on Bleecker Street where they found the child.

"That's my baby," a woman, presumably Ford, can be heard saying in the video. "Oh my God, oh my God," she says.

Ford was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and child protective services was notified. The OneIda County Child Protective Services had since removed all children from Ford's custody.

The child was evaluated at a local hospital.

Photo via Shutterstock