A Greenfield man who had apparently overdosed fled from a vehicle and left his two young children inside when he was contacted by authorities, according to a report filed by the Wilmington Police Department.
Following is the narrative from a police officer’s report:
Emergency services responded to the 1100 block of West Locust Street in Wilmington at 10:35 a.m. on Nov. 12 on the report of an overdosed subject in a vehicle with children. According to an officer’s report, emergency personnel were advised by nurses on the scene that a 30-year-old Greenfield male fled on foot into the wooded area across the street.
The nurses were advised by a patient that there were two small children screaming in a vehicle and the driver had overdosed. The nurses responded to a black SUV and observed syringes on the male’s lap and called 911.
The nurses were banging on the window trying to get the male subject to wake up and the children were crying the entire time. The mother of the children, who was at an appointment on West Locust Street, came outside and unlocked the vehicle. She then “slapped the male subject in the face telling him to get out of the vehicle and she grabbed one of the syringes on his lap and threw it on the ground.”
The male subject woke up, exited the vehicle while placing a different syringe in his pants pocket, and took off running across the street into the woods.
The mother of the children — a 24-year-old Greenfield female — advised the officer that the male suspect was the father of the children. After obtaining sworn written statements from witnesses, two officers went across the street and walked the wooded area following snow tracks attempting to locate the male subject in case he needed medical assistance from the drug use. Officers followed tracks to Nelson Avenue and it appeared the male subject jumped the fence and continued on outside the city limits.
Police officers advised a deputy in the area of the information.
The officers also notified Children Services of the incident and requested them to look into the matter, concerned for the welfare of the children because the father is a known drug user and was using drugs in the presence of the children.
When authorities spoke with the mother on the scene, the mother did not appear to be upset at the situation or bothered. “This also brought me concern,” the officer stated in the report. “Her only question to me when I advised her that I was going to let Children Services know of the incident was, ‘They’re not gonna take the kids from me are they? ‘Cause I’m clean.’”
The children were identified as being 1 and 2 years old.
