HPD: Warrants issued for parents who used heroin while driving, crashing with 4-year-old girl in car

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Warrants have been filed for parents in connection with crashing after they overdosed on heroin last week with their 4-year-old daughter in the car, Huntington Police say.

Chad Fry and Betty Jo Fulks are both charged with child neglect resulting in injury. Fry also is charged with DUI with a minor in the vehicle and possession of a controlled substance.

The crash happened last Friday near the intersection of 3rd Avenue and 26th Street.

Medics had to administer the heroin overdose reversal drug Narcan at the scene.

While the 4-year-old girl wasn't hurt, she was shaken up.

Fry and Fulks have not been arrested at this point.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – A father and mother are likely facing child neglect charges after police say they used heroin while driving and crashed into a tree, all with their 4-year-old girl in the back seat.

Police tell us it isn't the first time this type of thing happened and it won't be the last.

It’s a situation that puts everybody at risk.

A complete stranger, Megan Muth, was left to pick up the pieces on Friday -- in this case, comforting a small child who was injured.

"What do you do when a little girl wants her mommy and she's passed out?" asked Muth.

It's a question with really no answer, especially coming from a four-year-old girl, dressed in her pajamas, with a cut around her eye.

"It's just so sad,” Muth said. “She wants her mommy so bad, but her mommy was sitting down on the grass passed out."

Huntington police said her father was driving on Third Avenue near 26th Street just after noon Friday.

"All of a sudden, I heard a loud bang," said Muth.

She saw it happen in her rear-view mirror. Having been trained in CPR, she said it was just a gut reaction to get out and help.

The male driver “looked like he was dead," she said.

The mother got out of the car and promptly collapsed.

The little girl would likely be an orphan now if not for Naloxone, the medication used to reverse the effects of opiates like heroin. First responders gave it to both parents after arriving.

"She was just horrified,” said Muth. “It's just so sad that these people would do that with their baby in the car."

But Police Chief Joe Ciccarelli said Friday’s crash is by no means unique.

"It's something we have every day," he said.

Overdoses with kids right in the middle of it.

It’s a frightening thing to consider the next time you're behind the wheel.

"Don't do it with your kids in the car for Christ's sake," exclaims Muth.

"It puts the entire community at risk,” adds Ciccarelli. “You have drivers that are at risk, you have a child who is an innocent bystander."

To say nothing of the actual heroin users who put their own lives on the line every time they use, especially in a week where 28 people overdosed in a single day, including two likely deaths.

But for Muth, a mother herself, called into action to comfort a child in need, this view of the problem up close was a little too personal.

"I think it's getting worse,” she said. “My friend that moved downtown 10 years ago said this place is cursed and I almost think it is."

Ciccarelli said both parents are likely to be charged with child neglect resulting in injury and the driver with a DUI.

Child protective services was called.

Both adults and the girl were taken to the hospital to be checked out. All are expected to be fine.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The overdose reversal drug narcan was used twice Friday after an accident involving two adults and one child.

The crash happened in the 2600 block of 3rd avenue. The vehicle hit a tree head on.

Officials tell WSAZ.com traffic is down to one lane between 27th and 26th street.

Police say naloxone was used on both adults inside the vehicle.

Officials tell WSAZ.com Child Protective Services has been called.

No word on the condition of those involved at this time.

We have a crew at the scene.

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