Ohio Police Post Photo of Adults Apparently Unconscious With 4-Year-Old in Backseat
The woman was "completely unconscious," police said.
— -- Ohio police posted a photo to social media Thursday showing an apparently unconscious man next to a woman who allegedly overdosed on drugs in the front seat of a car, as a young boy sits in the backseat.
The East Liverpool Police Department posted two photos to its Facebook page showing the woman, identified by police as 50-year-old Rhonda Pasek, sitting in the passenger seat of the Ford Explorer with her head leaning to the side and her mouth agape. A man identified as 47-year-old James Accord sits in the driver seat in a similar manner, while a 4-year-old boy sits behind her. The boy appears alert and even looks directly at the camera in the photos.
On Wednesday afternoon, an East Liverpool police officer was following the Ford Explorer as it was allegedly driving erratically and was "weaving back and forth in the lane while driving on the yellow center and back to the right edge of the roadway," according to the police incident report.
Accord then allegedly hit the brakes and "skidded to a stop" as children were getting off a school bus, police said. When the officer made contact with Accord, he said he noticed that his head was "bobbing back and forth" and his speech was "almost unintelligible." Accord also allegedly had "pinpoint" pupils, according to the report.
Accord allegedly told police that he was taking Pasek, whom the officer described as "completely unconscious," to the hospital. Accord then allegedly began to manipulate his gear shift, which prompted the officer to reach inside the car and remove the keys, the report stated. Accord eventually also went "completely unconscious," according to the report.
The officer then called for an ambulance and watched as first responders administer "several rounds" of Narcan, which is used to reverse an opioid overdose, according to the report. A yellow folded-up piece of paper with a pink, powdery substance was found in the front seat between Pasek's legs and was sent to the crime lab for analysis, police said.
Pasek was charged with child endangerment and public intoxication, while Accord was charged with child endangerment and slowing stopped in roadway. The two spent the night in jail, while the boy was picked up from the scene by child services.
In a court appearance Thursday, Pasek pleaded not guilty, and Accord pleaded no contest, court records show. ABC News could not immediately reach Accord and Pasek for comment. It is unclear if they have obtained lawyers.
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