New Smyrna Beach, FL – An Edgewater woman is locked up on a variety of charges after she allegedly fell asleep in a running sport utility vehicle with her baby son inside.
24-year-old Amanda M. Torrisi was arrested by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office around 10:30pm Tuesday at a Kangaroo Express gas station on State Road 44 near New Smyrna Beach.
According to the arrest report, a clerk at the gas station called for help after discovering that a woman – later identified as Torrisi – was passed out in a maroon Chevy Trailblazer that had been parked at the gas station for at least 30 minutes.
That 20-year-old female clerk also told VCSO she tried banging on the window to wake the woman up but it didn’t work. She also noted that there was a baby sitting in the back seat of the SUV with a blanket over his lap.
Once on scene, responding deputies found that the SUV’s engine was still running, per the arrest report. It also noted that Volusia fire services personnel had to break into the SUV to free the baby after repeatedly trying and failing to wake Torrisi up.
Deputies say the baby and Torrisi were both sweating profusely at the time they were removed from the SUV, likely because the car’s heater had been turned on.
Other than having his hair and clothing soaked with sweat, paramedics said the 1-year-old boy was fine medically, but the baby did have to be cooled down at a waiting ambulance.
When questioned after she finally woke up, Torrisi’s speech was slow and slurred and she had trouble understanding where she was and why she was there, per the arrest report.
Torrisi did tell VCSO she was taking Buprenorphine under a doctor’s order to treat her drug addiction, but the report also shows deputies found marijuana and Xanax pills in her purse and a green glass bong in the SUV that deputies think was used to smoke marijuana.
She also claimed that she had pulled over at the gas station to text a friend, that she fell asleep behind the wheel without realizing it and that her license was suspended due to a prior arrest for driving under the influence, according to VCSO.
Torrisi failed field sobriety exercises on scene and refused to do a breath test on scene, per the arrest report. She also refused to speak any further without a lawyer present.
Besides getting a ticket for DUI, Torrisi was also charged with child abuse, driving with a suspended license and 3 counts of drug possession.
As of 2pm Wednesday, Torrisi is held at Volusia County Jail on $12,750 bond.
VCJ records show she’s been booked there 4 other times since July 2010 on a variety of charges, including retail theft, domestic battery and DUI.
Amanda M. Torrisi (mugshot courtesy VCJ)
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.