Police: Rock Hill mother passed out from pills, left children unsupervised

A Rock Hill mother is facing child neglect charges after police say she took “a handful” of medication to sleep, leaving her children unsupervised for hours.

A 7-year-old boy called 911 around 7 a.m. Monday when he couldn’t wake his mother, according to a police report. Officers went to the Eagles Place home and found the woman unconscious in her bed.

The boy told officers his mother “took a bunch of medication” the day before and had been in her room sleeping all day, and that he was playing outside all day unsupervised.

A 1-year-old had also been in the home all day, and police say the baby’s diaper hadn’t been changed in 12 hours. The apartment was also cluttered with items that could injure an unsupervised child, according to the report.

The 7-year-old said he didn’t eat dinner Sunday night because his mother didn’t wake up to fix it, the report states. When she did wake up, she “showed him a handful of pills and stated she was going to take the medication because she was ‘tired of dealing with’ ” the child’s father.

The children were placed in emergency protective custody with the state Department of Social Services. The report doesn’t indicate the mother’s status or if she was hospitalized, but police said they issued two warrants for the mother, who was not identified.

This story was originally published May 3, 2016 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Police: Rock Hill mother passed out from pills, left children unsupervised."