Indiana mother charged with neglect after 5-year-old son gets stuck in running washing machine
ELWOOD, INDIANA: An Indiana mother has been charged for neglecting her five-year-old son after he got trapped in a washing machine.
The little boy got trapped in the washer when the mother, Heather Oliver, was busy with other household chores. Oliver told the police, in her statement, that when she woke up, she saw her toddler son in bed.
Then she went to the kitchen to get some milk, thinking the child would still be sleeping. Then suddenly, she heard the washing machine filling with water and that's when she saw her son inside the washer.
She immediately rushed to get him out. She claimed that she hit the stop button on the machine and pulled him out. The boy came out with bruises and later ended up vomiting.
However, instead of calling 911 for immediate help, Oliver called up the child’s father and asked him to rush back home from work.
The boy’s father, in his statement, said that when he reached home, he found Oliver holding their son right outside the washer and dryer, and he was vomiting and his eyes were rolling.
The father also told the police that he felt it would be faster to just take their son to the hospital first instead of dialing 911. The parents then rushed their boy to St. Vincent Mercy Hospital and then to the Riley Children’s hospital in Indianapolis for further examination.
The nurses at both medical facilities said that the toddler was in and out of consciousness and there were bruises on his body, including scratches on his arms. They also said that he was dry but his underwear was wet, according to a report by Daily Mail.
In lieu of the incident, the mother, Oliver was charged with neglect by Indianapolis police. Her negligence had resulted in bodily harm to her child and it is considered an offense. The incident occurred in August this year.
Later, when the five-year-old son was interviewed, he claimed that his mother was "not nice" to him.
However, he did not share any details about the incident and how he got inside the machine. When the police questioned the boy's father, he defended Oliver and said that the mother never abused their son.