Infant found in hot car with passed-out parents in Indian River County, hospitalized

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. - An infant was hospitalized for dehydration after deputies found the 1-month-old child and his parents in a hot car Sunday morning, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said.

Nicholas Roberts, 24, and Justina Sullivan, 20, were charged with child abuse and possession of a controlled substance. The couple, listed as homeless on affidavits, said they previously lived in Fort Pierce but were evicted from their home Saturday.

Someone called 911 on Sunday after seeing Sullivan driving a black Chevrolet Impala on County Road 512 and told dispatchers she appeared to be falling asleep. A deputy said he found the Impala with most of the windows up and the couple and child inside at the KOA campground on C.R. 512 near Interstate 95. Sullivan was passed out, the deputy said. The child, who appeared clammy, was hospitalized.

Inside the Impala, deputies found 75 oxycodone pills, which the couple said had been given to them by someone else, according to the affidavit.

The couple were being held in lieu of $20,000 bail each at the Indian River County Jail.