NYPD: Mom abandoned baby in subway, good samaritan reported to police
A mother accused of abandoning her聽baby聽by pushing its stroller onto the platform in a New York City聽subway聽station before hopping on a departing train was in custody on Tuesday, police said.
The 20-year-old woman is suspected of leaving the 10-month-old child when a train arrived at the Columbus Circle train station on Monday, police said. City officials were looking after the child, who appeared to be unharmed.
"She was on the train," said聽New York City Police Department聽spokesman聽Christopher Pisano. "She exited and left the stroller on the platform and then got back onto the train."
The woman was taken into custody just after midnight local time in the area of 72nd Street and Broadway in Manhattan, Pisano said. No charges had yet been filed.聽The investigation is still underway.
The woman pushed the聽baby's聽stroller onto the platform from a northbound No. 1 train when it arrived at the Columbus Circle station and then got back onto the train, police said.
A passenger observed the woman and child board the train at 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, police said. The passenger got off at Columbus Circle and noticed the unattended stroller on the platform and the mother inside the train. After the train pulled away, the passenger remained with the聽baby聽for about 20 minutes. When the mother did not return, she notified a聽subway聽worker who called police.
Authorities described the聽baby聽as 6 to 7 months old. She was examined at Roosevelt Hospital, and no apparent signs of trauma were found.
The聽baby聽was placed in the care of the city's Administration for Children's Services.
A city law that allows people to take an unwanted聽baby聽to a firehouse, police station or hospital with no questions asked would not have applied in this case because it only pertains to infants 5 days old or younger.
