Advertisement

Hernando deputies: Child fell from second story; caregiver didn't get help

 
Ashley Crystal Gallant, 24, of Spring Hill faces a charge of child neglect, the Sheriff’s Office says. 
Ashley Crystal Gallant, 24, of Spring Hill faces a charge of child neglect, the Sheriff’s Office says. 
Published March 25, 2014

SPRING HILL — A 24-year-old Spring Hill woman is accused of failing to seek help for a 1-year-old boy who fell out of a second-story window Friday evening.

Ashley Crystal Gallant of 512 Spring Haven Loop faces a charge of child neglect, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. She was released from the Hernando County Detention Center on Saturday on $2,000 bail.

About 7:51 p.m. Friday, deputies were called to the address on Spring Haven Loop after getting a call about a child who had fallen from a second-story window. Deputies learned that the boy, whom the Sheriff's Office did not identify, had fallen 12 feet to the ground outside the apartment window.

Gallant told authorities she was inside the home washing dishes in the kitchen when she heard a sound. She looked up and did not see the child. She realized a short time later that he had pushed up against the screen.

Gallant ran downstairs, where she found the toddler next to some bushes with cuts and scrapes on his face.

She carried him inside and called the father, Jason Oliveria, at which point an argument broke out because he wanted to take the child to a hospital. Gallant, whose relationship to the boy was not explained by authorities, did not seek medical attention for the child, according to deputies.

Gallant admitted that she had smoked marijuana the previous day and had taken eight prescription pills in the previous 48 hours. She was supposed to take only one pill per day.

The child was flown to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. On Monday, his condition was listed as stable.