A man in Gainesville, Georgia, has been arrested after his three-year-old got drunk. The child had twice the blood alcohol level that would get an adult arrested. Officials say as little as one more sip could have killed the child.
Twenty-year-old father, Marcus Daniel Allen, was babysitting his son. A family member found Allen passed out in a bedroom drunk. His family noticed that the child smelled of alcohol, so they called 911. They also noticed the child was acting “lethargic” and “abnormal.” The child had found a drink of hard liquor somewhere in the house.
The father ran away when the police came to arrest him at the hospital. They eventually caught him in the parking lot. He has been charged with child cruelty, giving alcohol to a minor, and obstruction of an officer. Since he is only 20, he was charged with a count of underage drinking for himself. His relatives refused to comment.
The police said that the father was drinking a fruity alcoholic drink out of a water bottle with a straw in it. The child might have thought it was juice.
The Gainesville Deputy Cheif of Police, Jay Parrish, had this to say about the incident:
“I think it could have been a lot worse had they not come home when they did. Had the child ingested more alcohol, it could have been fatal.”
Parrish also said:
“I think it just goes to show that to parent and raise a child, we have to be highly vigilant at all times, and have to put the children first and our behaviour second, for their well-being.”
The toddler is recovering and is in his mother’s care. I’m glad the child is doing better. Hopefully, his father will get the substance abuse treatment he needs.
Featured image screengrab via globalnews.ca.
