Father Pushed Boy, 5, Over Hillside While Overdosing On Heroin
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BUTLER, Pa. (KDKA) -- A Butler County man was arrested over the weekend after police say he pushed his 5-year-old son over a hillside in a stroller while overdosing on heroin.
A passerby called Butler Police after seeing a 5-year-old child alone in a carriage near a stop sign on East Jefferson Street.
A witness also told police they saw 25-year-old Charles Brookbank, the child's father, nearby, snorting a substance from a red bag before he came back to the child in the stroller.
"[Brookbank] started walking, appeared intoxicated, was staggering about, had hit a utility pole, ran into a couple of bushes, caused enough concern they called police," Butler Deputy Police Chief David Adam said.
Officers arrived and saw Brookbank pushing the stroller down the sidewalk, onto the grass and over a steep embankment. Police say he fell on top of the stroller with the child inside, and they both rolled over the embankment.
"While watching him, he actually fell over the hillside near the sidewalk, baby stroller and all," Adam said.
Police say Brookbank was unresponsive and had to be revived with two doses of Narcan.
A neighbor, who did not want to be identified, saw police arrest Brookbank.
"The suspect was wobbling all over, intoxicated and drugged," the neighbor said. "It's pretty scary, living in this city. You learn, you live and you see everything."
The child was checked out by paramedics and was not hurt. The child is now back with his mother.
Brookbank later admitted that he was using heroin while caring for the child.
"When children are involved, it escalates it times ten," Adam said. "It's a horrible thing that children have to… you know, they have no choice. They are living it every day."
Brookbank is charged with recklessly endangering the welfare of a child, public drunkenness, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is in the Butler County Jail.
