A man and a woman were arrested in Culpeper, Virginia, last week after overdosing in a car with a baby inside, according to the Culpeper Police Department.
Police said they found Eddie Cubbage, 40, of Orange, and Marissa Southerland, 28, of Culpeper, just after noon Thursday, sitting unconscious in the front seats of a car that was parked in a bank’s drive-thru.
A two-month-old infant, who police said was not in distress, was in the back seat of the car.
The first officer who responded revived Southerland without administering Narcan, while Cubbage remained unresponsive, even after police gave him a dose of Narcan. Both Cubbage and Southerland were taken to the hospital where Southerland received a dose of the drug.
They were both treated and eventually released.
“Both adults had to receive second doses later in this incident because both Ms. Southerland and Mr. Cubbage started overdosing again while still in the custody of law enforcement,” Culpeper Police Chief Chris Jenkins said in a news release.
Cubbage was charged with one count of felony child abuse and one count of misdemeanor driving under the influence of drugs. Southerland was charged with one count of felony child abuse and was also served on unrelated warrants from both the Stafford and Fauquier County sheriff’s offices.
Police said the two came to Culpeper to buy narcotics while the infant was in their care. Cubbage and Southerland used the drugs immediately after the purchase, while the baby was still in the car, according to police, then drove to the bank where they overdosed.
“Some of the less visible consequences of this pandemic has been the increased occurrence of drug overdoses, increased rate of substance abuse, and increased number of people experiencing mental health crisis,” Jenkins said in the release. “Addiction and mental health go hand in hand.”
The infant was turned over to Child Protective Services.
WTOP’s Acacia James contributed to this report.
