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Catalina Clouser, Ariz. teen., allegedly drove off with baby on car roof
Catalina Clouser, 19
/ KPHOAccording to CBS affiliate KPHO, 19-year-old Catalina Clouser, 19, admitted to the negligence and was arrested and charged with one count aggravated DUI and one count of child abuse.
Phoenix Police Officer James Holmes said officers responded to 45th Avenue and Cholla after a baby had been found by witnesses strapped in a child safety seat and laying in the middle of the intersection about 12:45 a.m. Saturday.
"The baby was all nice and tucked in and nothing was wrong with him, thank goodness," said Leilani Gerlach, a neighbor who found the infant.
The 5-week-old infant was taken to a local hospital and found to be uninjured.
The station reports that officials said Clouser, upset over the recent DUI arrest of her boyfriend, took the baby and drove to a friend's house Saturday night. There, Clouser and her friends admittedly smoked one or two more bowls of marijuana, Holmes said.
Around midnight, according to witnesses, Clouser left the home with the baby, who had been asleep in a child safety seat.
According to authorities, it appears Clouser put the baby on the roof of her car and drove off, forgetting he was still on the roof. When she arrived home some 12 miles away, Clouser found the baby was not in, or on, the car. She reportedly realized her mistake and called her friends, asking if they could start checking the route she drove as she feared her baby had fallen from the car.
"We are extremely happy that for the baby this turned out well and that baby is going to be OK," Holmes said.
The baby is in the custody of the Arizona Child Protective Services. A judge ordered Clouser to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and abstain from drinking alcohol or doing drugs until her next court date.
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