Milwaukee mother charged with drunken driving in case where girl was left in van overnight at tow lot
John Diedrich
A Milwaukee woman whose daughter was left overnight in their van in a tow lot was charged Saturday with 10 criminal counts.
The charges against Blair Springfield, 28, include driving drunk with children in a vehicle, stemming from two incidents.
In the second incident Nov. 12, Springfield's 4-year-old daughter was left in the van and spent a cold night inside the vehicle at the city tow lot. The girl was found unharmed.
The Milwaukee Police Department is conducting an internal investigation into the actions of officers regarding the incident, according to Mayor Tom Barrett. Vehicles should be "thoroughly searched" at the scene prior to being towed, under the department's procedure.
The city's Department of Public Works, which operates the tow lot, is also reviewing its procedures, Barrett said.
RELATED:4-year-old spent 8 hours unnoticed in Milwaukee city tow lot after mother's drunken-driving arrest
Springfield is charged with two counts of driving drunk with a child on board and several felony counts of child neglect. She appeared in court Friday and was in custody Saturday at the Milwaukee County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash bond.
According to the criminal complaint:
On Sept. 18, Springfield was found passed out behind the wheel in the drive-through of a fast food restaurant in the 2700 block of West Capitol Drive. There were five children inside, ages 1 to 7. Firefighters administered Narcan to Springfield to revive her. Narcan is used to counteract the effects of heroin and other drugs. Police also found empty vodka bottles in the car.
Springfield's blood alcohol concentration was 0.243, which is more than three times the legal limit in Wisconsin. The complaint does not say whether Springfield was arrested. She was not criminally charged following that incident, according to online court records. She also was not ticketed, according to the city's municipal court website.
Springfield was ticketed for driving with a suspended license three times last year. Her license was suspended when she was stopped Nov. 12 and was cited for that, according to municipal court records.
Police were called at 10:22 p.m. Nov. 12 to the 3900 block of West Forest Home Avenue where an officer saw Springfield slumped over in the passenger seat with her leg over the center console. Another woman was in the van with Springfield's infant on her lap. Springfield's 4-year-old daughter was in the back seat sleeping.
As police were arresting Springfield, she did not say that her 4-year-old was in the back sleeping, according to the complaint. However, the other woman in the car with the defendant said officers would not let her check for the girl in the back.
The child was found crying the next morning by tow lot workers. She was in the van for eight hours. The temperature dropped to 18 degrees that night.