‘Deal with it,’ woman tells choking child before passing out at FL restaurant, cops say
A 27-year-old woman was charged with child neglect after she passed out on the deck of a restaurant, Florida deputies said.
Deputies responded Nov. 15 to a restaurant at the Emerald Grande hotel in Destin after reports of a woman, who has been identified as Ariel Hope, passing out while a 1-year-old was in her care, according to a news release from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said they had a hard time waking up Hope, who wasn’t able to stand on her own or coherently answer questions.
A witness told deputies that ”at one point the toddler appeared to be choking on a cherry and Hope told her to’#&#S@ deal with it,’” according to the release.
The witness also said Hope fell to the ground while the child was still in her hands, according to deputies.
The witness took care of the toddler, who was dressed in a single, thin layer of clothing, until deputies arrived, they said.
The temperature at the time was about 60 degrees with cold wind, deputies said.
Hope was taken into custody and charged with child neglect, without great bodily harm, according to the release.
Destin is about 640 miles northwest of Miami.
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