Baby found playing on busy Dale Co. highway, mom arrested, police say

DALE COUNTY, Ala (WDHN) — A 21-year-old Dale County mom was arrested this week after investigators claimed she fell asleep, leading to her child wandering off and playing on a busy highway.

Ashley Norton was arrested on Wednesday, July 10, and charged with one count of reckless endangerment and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

According to Pinckard Police Captain Jarred Ougletree, Norton’s one-and-a-half-year-old daughter was seen by a driver playing in a ditch on the side of Highway 134 in the 400 block on Wednesday morning.

Capt. Ougletree says the driver turned around to see what was happening, and when he returned to the child, she was playing in the road with a dog while only wearing a diaper.

Pinkard Police, Dale County Sheriff’s Deputies, and DHR were called to the scene.

The police captain tells WDHN that Norton, along with several other people, was asleep in the house where the child had escaped from and did not notice she was gone.

Norton was released from the Dale County Jail a little over three hours after her arrest.

The baby was not injured and has been temporarily placed in the custody of one of Norton’s friends, according to Capt. Ougletree.

While no additional charges have been filed, Capt. Ougletree says DHR’s investigation is still ongoing.

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