CINCINNATI – Police arrested a woman who they said overdosed on heroin in a car with her young son in the back. Witnesses said the running car wasn't in park at the time of the overdose.
Rebecca Cooper, 27, of Independence, Kentucky, was found in a car next to the AutoZone parking lot on Seymour Avenue in Roselawn after she overdosed Saturday afternoon – her birthday – according to police.
Her 3-year-old son was in the back seat of the car, they said.
Police revived Cooper with Narcan.
She was charged with endangering children and possession of drugs. A judge gave Cooper a $2,500 bond on each charge Monday and ordered her to stay away from her son.
Geno Calloway, an employee at the AutoZone on Seymour Avenue, told WCPO that Cooper's car began moving at one point and only stopped because a tire hit a pothole, Calloway said.
The number of drivers high on heroin and the accidents they cause are increasing rapidly, Lt. Bruce Hoffbauer, commander of the Cincinnati Police Traffic Section, told WCPO for our report, Heroin on the Highway, last week. Before Cooper, there had been 148 OVI arrests for heroin in just the city of Cincinnati this year and 41 heroin-related traffic accidents
"It's just gotten so bad, the heroin problem is just awful," Calloway said. "People need to know how bad it's gotten and we need to do something."
Cooper’s father said she had previously been to rehab and was clean for two years.
Court records show that Cooper faced heroin and child endangering charges three years ago. The endangering charge was later dropped.
He’s looking after her children now.
Jason Burgess and Rose-Ann Aragon contributed to this report.
Click here for a list of resources for help getting off heroin.
