MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A small child is fighting for his life at LeBonheur, after police say his mother crashed while driving drunk.
The mom, Kenyatta Reed-Ferguson is also recovering after the crash, but behind bars. Reed-Ferguson faces DUI and child endangerment charges.
Police say the suspected drunk mother first lost control of her car and veered off I-240 near Millbranch, while her son, who is under the age of four, was inside the car.
“I wouldn`t want anything to happen to my child or anybody else`s child. I love kids. I really love them,” said neighbor Pearl Stepheny.
Witnesses told police; they heard tires screeching as Reed-Ferguson knocked down one fence, sped across a private parking lot and barreled into another fence yards away.
Police say they had to crawl underneath the second fence to get to the drunken mother and her young son.
Officers found a small child lying face down in the back seat of the car; he wasn`t in a car seat.
“Police say there wasn`t even a car seat in the car,” WREG’s Elise Preston told Reed-Ferguson’s neighbors.
“Are you serious? I don`t know how that happened,” replied Stepheny.
Paramedics rushed the little boy to LeBonheur in critical condition. The family`s neighbors are questioning how a mother they say is always taking care of her son, could be accused of doing something so careless.
“He`s always well dressed, well cared for, he looks like he`s well nurtured. When I see him getting in and out of his mom`s car, it`s like she`s buckling up or buckling him in his car seat,” said Stepheny.
Pearl Stephany has her hands full with small grandchildren; her car is always full of car seats.
“I want to protect them. I don`t want my kids hurt that would just kill me,” said Stepheny.
The grandmother next door, is praying for her little neighbor.
“I`m sorry to hear that, it’s very heartbreaking,” said Stepheny.
Police records show, Reed-Ferguson admitted to police; she drank one beer before getting behind the wheel. Police say they smelled a strong odor of alcohol and had to help her walk away from the scene, so she wouldn’t fall over.