Mom Accused Of Crashing Car In Queens, Leaving Baby Behind Faces Charges
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A mother is facing charges after police say she ran from the scene of a crash in Queens after leaving her baby in the arms of a stranger.
Police say 25-year-old Malikah George lost control of her vehicle, jumped the curb and smashed it into a fence near a school at the corner of 101st Avenue and 93rd Street in Ozone Park around 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Witnesses say they watched as she jumped out of the car, grabbed her 1-year-old daughter from the back seat and handed her child off to a complete stranger, allegedly saying, "I'm going to be arrested" before running away, CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reported.
"The worst part is she just jumps out the car, tells somebody, some random lady on the corner, 'Listen, I'm gonna get arrested, take my baby,' leaving the car and her child," one witness said. "I don't know what to do about that."
Another woman watched the moments after the crash unfold from her apartment across the street.
"She had the baby dangling down off of her arm. Some lady leaned over and grabbed the baby because in the midst of everything, you assume the baby got hurt," witness Kiana Velasquez said. "We didn't know what was the issue, why would she leave that baby behind like that? It was the craziest thing."
The baby was later placed in an ambulance and taken to Jamaica Hospital for evaluation. Police say several hours later, George went looking for her daughter at the hospital and while she was there, police arrested her.
George is now facing several charges including acting in a manner injurious to a child, reckless endangerment, operating a vehicle without insurance, registration or a driver's license and leaving the scene of an accident, Duddridge reported.
The baby has been placed in the care of the NYPD.
