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Background: Mary and Albert Singleton spoke to WALA about their 4-year-old daughter’s ethanol poisoning (WALA). Inset: A photo of their daughter while she was being treated in the ICU (WALA).
A mother and father from Alabama want to know how their 4-year-old daughter ingested so much ethanol while at school that she ended up in the ICU for two days.
Mary and Albert Singleton, whose ages were not available, spoke to local Fox affiliate WALA about the case of their 4-year-old daughter. On Monday, Mary Singleton picked up her little girl from school, which is part of the Mobile County Public Schools system. According to WALA’s reporting, school officials called the Singletons two minutes before classes were dismissed for the day, telling them about their daughter’s condition.
When Mary Singleton got to her daughter at the school nurse’s office, she told WALA that her daughter was limp.
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Mary Singleton told WALA, her daughter “was slobbering at the mouth, she was heavy, and the teacher handed her to me saying we probably needed to take her to the ER.”
The scared mother rushed her daughter to the hospital, where they ran a toxicology report and admitted the little girl. WALA reported that the tests, which were provided to the station by the couple, revealed that the 4-year-old had a blood alcohol content of .29, a dangerously high level.
The alcohol the girl had in her system was ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, which is found in products like hand sanitizer, food packaging, and some beauty and skin care products. While it is also a popular solvent, ethanol is the same kind of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages.
The girl was treated in the ICU for two days before she was released on Wednesday.
WALA reported that it was still not clear what the little girl ingested or how it was within her reach. When Mobile County Public Schools was asked for a comment, they did not respond back.
While no criminal charges have been filed yet, WALA reported that Prichard Police are investigating the incident. Prichard Police told WALA that they may pass the case on to the Child Advocacy Center.
