Broken Toilet Nearly Kills Sullivan County Child, Woman Arrested
Quick-thinking police officers are credited with saving the life of a two-year-old boy in the Hudson Valley.
On Wednesday, the Village of Liberty Police Department confirmed a Liberty woman was arrested for assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
Child Injured in Liberty, New York
On Sunday, at approximately 6:00 p.m., officers of the Village of Liberty Police Department responded to a home in the Village of Liberty for a 911 call that stated a two-year-old child was uncontrollably bleeding from his leg.
Responding officers found the young child with two large cuts to his leg that were bleeding uncontrollably, police say. While waiting for emergency medical personnel to arrive officers quickly began to apply first aid by putting pressure on the boy's cuts in hopes it would stop the bleeding.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the officers, troopers and emergency medical personnel that responded to this incident and provided lifesaving first aid to this child," Chief of Police Steven D’Agata stated. "I would particularly like to thank Liberty Police Sergeant Austin Sauer and Dispatcher Jeffrey Ashdown for their quick thinking and professional actions.
The two-year-old child was then taken to Garnet Health Medical Center in Orange County.
The boy was later transferred to Westchester Medical Center where he underwent emergency surgery for his injuries. Police did not release the boy's condition but believe officers saved the boy's life.
"After arriving first on scene and while immediately administering first aid to the victim, Sgt. Sauer correctly recognized the injuries sustained as potentially life-threatening. Prior to emergency medical personnel arriving Sgt. Sauer directed the on-duty dispatcher at the Liberty Police Department, to respond to the scene. In addition to being a dispatcher with our department, Dispatcher Jeffrey Ashdown is a trained EMT with Mobile Medic Ambulance Services. Ashdown provided immediate emergency medical care to the victim that probably saved his life," D'Agata added.
Child Severely Cut By Toilet in Sullivan County
Police believe the child was cut when he was left unattended in a bathtub with multiple shards of broken porcelain from a broken toilet on the floor immediately next to the bathtub.
As a result of the investigation, 24-year-old Julie Degraw of Liberty was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment in the 2nd degree and assault in the third degree.
Police did not release Degraw's relationship with the child.
Degraw was arraigned in the Town of Liberty Court and in accordance with New York bail reform, released on her own recognizance, police say.
The Village of Liberty Police Department was assisted by the New York State Police, and Sullivan County Child Protective Services.