Baby With Blood Alcohol Of .294 Admitted To Hospital: You Won’t Believe Mom And Dad’s Defense

A blood alcohol level of .294 was registered to a one-month-old Kenosha, Wisconsin, baby. The child was admitted to an area hospital after parents say she “accidentally” consumed a baby bottle full of vodka.

Brian M. Smith, the 22-year-old father, was named in reports. The unnamed mother, 20, claimed that Smith had emptied out a water bottle and filled it with vodka.

When she began to make formula for the baby, she reportedly had no idea that the substance she was using wasn’t water at all.

It wasn’t until the child’s toes and hands reddened and her leg started shaking that she realized something was wrong and sought help for the infant.

Opposing Views, going from the Kenosha Police report, noted that Smith “found out about the vodka mix up” and “hit the young mother over the head with a water bottle,” pushing her and choking her as well.

He was arrested shortly thereafter “for strangulation and suffocation, two counts of battery, disorderly conduct with a domestic violence enhancer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest,” the site added.

The child’s .294 blood alcohol content (BAC) was almost three times the legal limit for what most states would consider to be an “intoxicated” adult.

Initial reports from Fox 6 indicated that it was not known whether the baby’s condition was critical, but that she did end up in the ICU at Aurora Medical Center.

A later report from WISC-TV claimed that the child was expected to recover — the news coming directly from Lt. Bradley Hetlet of the Kenosha Police Department.

It’s hard to say just how close the child came to death as a result of the elevated blood alcohol level. Just to put it in perspective, The Boot reports that it took a .47 BAC to kill country music legend Keith Whitley, but Whitley was known to have had a high tolerance for alcohol due to heavy usage throughout his career. As an adult, he also weighed considerably more than 10 pounds, which cannot necessarily be said for the unnamed child in the Kenosha case.

That brings up an interesting question regarding the little girl’s future.

Was this truly an “accident” and an honest mistake as the parents are saying, or is there enough here to warrant monitoring from Child Protective Services? What do you think, readers?

Should authorities condone a 1-month-old baby testing three times higher on blood alcohol than an average intoxicated adult? Would you consider taking the child away from her parents? Sound off in the comments section.

[Image via ShutterStock]