On Monday, Good Samaritans prevented a Florida woman from drowning herself and her toddler.
According to detectives, Laquisha Mosley was driving with her 2-year-old son when she sideswiped another car and hit a barrier. She then got out of her car, carrying her child, climbed a fence, and ran into a lake.
“I heard people screaming, ‘get that baby, get the baby,’” said Angi Whitaker, who woke up because of the noise. “I heard people saying ‘she is going to drown that baby,’ so I jumped up and ran outside.”
Whitaker jumped into the lake after the woman, trying to talk Mosley into handing over the child.
“She was in the water, and I reached for her, and I said, ‘let me help you get out’ and she said ‘you’re not taking my baby’ and went off into the water deeper. I followed her,” Whitaker said. “She would not let go of the child.”
That’s when another Good Samaritan joined her to help.
“He grabbed her by the arm and said, ‘get the baby!’ I snatched the baby as fast as I could and swam back to the bank,” Whitaker said.
Police then arrived as they were trying to get Mosley out of the water. Mosley reportedly ignored police commands and tried to jump back in the lake. Mosley was threatened with a Taser, but as soon as she was cuffed, she began to kick and scream.
Mosley was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident and child endangerment for not getting the toddler medical treatment, and a judge ordered on Tuesday that she could not have any contact with her son.
The boy was treated at Lakeland Regional Medical Center for a fractured left femur.