Mother Had Baby In Motel Bathtub During Crack Cocaine Binge: Police

Andres Jauregui huffingtonpost.com A woman was arrested Friday after she gave birth in the bathub of a Florida motel room during what she told authorities was a crack cocaine binge. Chrystal Hassell, 37, is charged with child neglect and remains under suicide watch in Marion County Jail. A Department of Children and Families spokeswoman told WPBF that the agency has taken custody of the infant boy and his 11-month-old brother. Hassell told police that she didn't realize she was pregnant again until March, when she felt the baby kick. She told police that she resolved not to smoke crack once she learned of the pregnancy, but that she'd gone on a binge the day before the baby boy was born. The woman had the child in a bathtub in an Ocala motel room, and cut the umbilical cord with her teeth, the Ocala Star Banner reported. Hassell called 911 once the child turned blue. The child remains in critical condition at a Gainesville hospital. to read more: huffingtonpost.com