9-year-old called 911 to report driver using heroin

CINCINNATI — A 9-year-old called police over the weekend to report an Ohio woman had been snorting heroin behind the wheel, police said.

Paula Smith, 41, of Batavia, Ohio, was charged with endangering children, operating a vehicle under the influence, refusal of a chemical test and possession of an open container, according to court documents.

Cincinnati police said the 9-year-old was in the back of the car and called 911 to report the incident in Cincinnati's East Price Hill neighborhood Saturday.

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When police arrived at the location, Smith was still behind the wheel, but the 9-year-old had been moved to a fire truck, police said.

Police said they found a can of Bud Light Ice in the car's center console upon further investigation.

Smith appeared in court Monday. She is being held at the Hamilton County (Ohio) Justice Center.

Over the weekend, hospital emergency departments in Hamilton County saw 70 overdoses.

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The Hamilton County Heroin Coalition started noting the surge in overdoses Thursday, issued a warning Friday and re-emphasized its alert as the overdoses continued Saturday.

Two people died of suspected overdoses during the period, said Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco, the Hamilton County coroner.

It's unclear what propelled the latest bout of overdoses, but Feb. 26, the coalition had noted an abnormally high number of overdoses in the region, with nine deaths.

The county's overdose deaths in 2016 tallied at least 388, with 25 coroner cases still pending, Sammarco said. That compared to an overdose death toll of 414 in 2015. But Sammarco also noted that the period from Jan. 15, 2016, to Feb. 26, 2016, yielded 49 such deaths, which compares to 94 for the same period this year.

Contributing: Terry DeMio, The Cincinnati Enquirer. Follow Fernanda Crescente on Twitter: @famcrescente