Background: News video showed a 4-year-old girl hospitalized with high ethanol levels (WALA). Inset: Tracy Walker (Mobile County Sheriff’s Office).
A suspect has been detained regarding the incident where a 4-year-old Alabama girl returned from school with extremely high ethanol levels, leading to her hospitalization.
Tracy Walker, aged 56, is a teacher at the school where Mary and Albert Singleton’s young daughter was taken to the nurse’s office, showing symptoms like foaming at the mouth and limpness. The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office records indicate that Walker was taken into custody on Wednesday, facing charges of aggravated child abuse. The case caught attention after local Fox affiliate WALA covered the story, prompting police to investigate how the little girl ended up in the ICU with a blood alcohol content of 0.29 for two days.
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As previously reported by Law&Crime, the Singletons said that two minutes before classes were dismissed on April 28, they got a call from the nurse’s office about their daughter’s condition. Mary Singleton told WALA that her little girl was “slobbering at the mouth, she was heavy, and the teacher handed her to me saying we probably needed to take her to the ER.”
When the couple brought the girl to USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital, it was discovered that the girl had a 0.29 BAC level, more than 3 1/2 times the legal limit for an adult. The girl spent two days in the ICU before she was released from the hospital. WALA reported that the girl was not able to return for the rest of the school year due to her recovery.
Law&Crime reported earlier this month that an investigation had begun, and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office took the lead on the case on May 6. On Tuesday, Walker was arrested. According to WALA, the little girl told detectives with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office that her teacher had given her a drink that later made her feel sick.
According to the website for Collins-Rhodes Elementary School, which the Singleton girl attended, Walker is listed as a special-education teacher. The school told WALA in a statement that Walker had been placed on administrative leave following the first allegations against her.
As of Thursday, Walker was still being held in custody without bond. WALA reported that a bond hearing was scheduled for Friday.
