A Bechtelsville woman was arrested after state police said she left her young son in a car seat in her vehicle without the engine running in the driveway of a friend’s house on a frigid night while she was consumed alcohol inside.
Paige E. Reinert, 26, remained free to await a hearing following arraignment Saturday morning before District Judge Kim L. Bagenstose in Reading Central Court. Reinert faces charges of endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment.
According to court documents:
Shortly after 4 a.m. Saturday, state police from the Reading station were called to Lehigh Valley Gilbertsville Hospital by Eastern Berks Regional Police, who were with the child’s grandparents.
The grandmother told Trooper Jared Clugston that Reinert, her daughter-in-law, left their home with her son about 9:45 p.m. Friday. She told that them she was going to drive him around in her SUV to get him to fall asleep.
Shortly before 11 p.m., the grandmother texted and phoned Reinert several times to find out where they were, but there was no response.
The grandmother said she and her son, the boy’s biological father, set out to find Reinert and the child. They used the “Find my phone” application on her phone, and it took them to an address on Sunset Hill Road in Earl Township.
At about 1:30 a.m. Saturday they arrived to find the SUV in the driveway of the home. The vehicle was unattended, not running, and the boy was secured in a child safety seat in the rear passenger compartment.
He was dressed in a footless onesie, which was composed of thin material similar to a normal T-shirt.
The grandmother and child’s father removed the boy from the vehicle and took him into their vehicle.
The grandmother said that during the drive home she noticed her grandson was cold to the touch, very lethargic and his exposed skin was very red.
They tried to warm him with blankets, but he kept shivering so they took him to the hospital.
His internal temperature taken immediately after they arrived at the hospital was 96.4 degrees, which is 2 degrees below normal.
The treating physician said he was suffering mild hypothermia and used warming packets and blankets to restore normal temperature.
In the meantime, Reinert returned from her friend’s house.
She was interviewed about 7 a.m. at the Reading station. Before the interview began, she consented to a blood-alcohol test, which registered 0.10%. A driver can be charged with drunken driving with a level of 0.08%.
Reinert said she only drank alcohol after she returned from her friend’s house.
She said she had taken her son for a car ride Friday night because he wasn’t sleeping well lately. She said her friend was getting ready to move so she drove to her house to help her pack.
She arrived about 11:30 p.m. and left her son in the car, which wasn’t running. She said she didn’t bring her son into the home because her friend has big dogs. She would go out to the car every 15 to 30 minutes to check on him.
Every time she opened the door to check on him, it would slightly rouse him from sleep but his eyes remained closed.
She said she had one alcoholic drink while at her friend’s house. The last time she went to check on him, she noticed he wasn’t there.
She tried calling the father and grandmother but no one was picked up. She explained that she hadn’t received their texts and calls because she left her phone in the car.
Given that the calls to her phone began at 10:52 p.m. and the child was found unattended at 1:30 a.m. indicates he was in the vehicle with no heat for about 2 ½ hours when it was approximately 17 degrees outside, Clugston wrote in the probable cause affidavit.