Man suffers apparent overdose while pushing child in stroller in Yarmouth

YARMOUTH, Mass. — A man passed out on a street in Yarmouth from an apparent overdose while pushing a baby in a stroller, police say.

Officers responded to a 911 call from Yarmouth resident Bev Florance, who reported the incident after seeing the father lying face-down and passed out on Coolidge Road while she was at her home.

While the father was on the ground, his baby was screaming on a stroller right next to him.

"The baby was screaming and crying, and he was sort of laying there, looked unconscious," Florance said. "I tried to get him, wake him up and talk to him and everything. I talked to the baby and he wouldn't budge. Just nothing happened, no matter what I said or did."

Florance called police during the incident on Monday afternoon, and said she was shaking and frantic as he dialed 911 for the first time.

"I just did my duty," Florance said. "I said 'I hope I'm doing the right thing.' 911 asked me, 'Is he breathing? Is he breathing? Can you see if he's breathing?'"

Moments after Yarmouth Police arrived, paramedics and firefighters were on scene.

Lietuenant Chris Caton of the Yarmouth Fire Department took care of the 10-month-old girl as officers called the child's mother at work.

"It’s been a long time since I dealt with a baby," Caton said. "But I was able to calm the baby down and I brought the baby home until the mother got home, and the baby was happy when she saw mom."

Meanwhile, police shouted at the father and shook him to wake him up.

"As soon as the police officer yelled loudly at him, 'Hey, hey, hey!' and then sort of kicked his shoe a little, he just sort of sprang up," Florance said.

Police said the man suffered an apparent overdose while pushing the child, before he was transported.

"we did transport the person once the police put him into protective custody," Caton said. "Under their protocol, we have to transport. We brought him there. He was later treated and released.

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The baby is doing well, but neighbors like Florance are feeling for the whole family.

"It's sad because I felt, 'Gosh, you're such a young guy, you got a baby. This isn't what you should be doing,'" Florance said.

Police say the mother was cooperative, and said she and the baby were happy to be reunited.

The Department of Children and Families was notified, and the man hasn't been charged with a crime at this point.

Cox Media Group