A man is accused of overdosing in a car with a 2-week-old infant in back seat near Delray Beach, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office report.
Todd Todaro, 29, pleaded not guilty to child neglect and driving under the influence Thursday morning, a month after paramedics say they had to wake Todaro with Narcan after finding him unresponsive with the newborn in the back seat.
A good Samaritan said he followed Todaro’s car for 2 and a half miles on Nov. 9 because he noticed the vehicle swerving in and out of traffic.
“It was almost something right out of a movie,” David Wilde said. Wilde said he was driving home from work last month on his usual route when he saw the car in front of him on Lake Ida Road near Delray Beach.
“Almost like he was playing chicken with the ongoing traffic in the opposite direction,” Wilde said, adding that he couldn’t sit back and do nothing.
Wilde called 911 to report a possible drunk driver.
“He hit one of the medians, blew two tires and came to a stop.” Authorities say Todaro’s car was parked in the middle of the road when first responders arrived.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue reported finding Todaro unresponsive in the driver’s seat. Fire rescue paramedics said they woke Todaro with Narcan.
Todaro told the paramedics he was snorting heroin and taking Xanax earlier in the day, according to an arrest report. Deputies said they found four capsules and a cut straw in the center console.
A 2-week-old infant was strapped into a car seat behind the front passenger seat, deputies said.
Wilde said he didn’t know there was a child in the car until a deputy called him the next day.
“When he informed me that there was a baby in the back seat, in all honesty, my heart dropped,” Wilde said.
Deputies arrested Todaro on Nov. 9 and he was later released on bail from the Palm Beach County Jail. He appeared before a judge Thursday to be arraigned on the charges.
“Just to know the baby was safe made everything I had done worthwhile,” Wilde added.
A judge ordered Todaro to undergo random drug screenings and he is not allowed to drive with the infant in the car.
