NORTH DAKOTA MOTHER FACES FEDERAL CHARGES AFTER TODDLER WAS RUN OVER AND ANOTHER CHILD FOUND ALONE ON ROAD

A 37-year-old North Dakota mother is facing federal charges following two separate incidents involving her children, according to authorities. Cassandra Santos was charged on October 9 with assault resulting in substantial bodily injury and three counts of child neglect in Indian Country. Investigators allege that the incidents raised serious concerns about the safety and supervision of her three children.

The first incident reportedly occurred on July 6 at the Crow Hill Recreation Center on the Spirit Lake Reservation, where a prayer service was taking place. According to a federal affidavit, Santos allegedly ran over her 1-year-old child with a vehicle. The toddler was taken to a hospital in Fargo, where medical staff identified a fractured right femur, a crush injury and abrasions to the left leg and foot.

During the investigation, an FBI agent questioned Santos about what had happened. Authorities said she provided conflicting accounts about whether she had consumed alcohol that day. The child’s grandmother and aunt reportedly told investigators they smelled alcohol on Santos. Santos said she did not intend to hurt her child and expressed regret that no one had been watching the toddler at the time. Her two other children were reportedly inside the vehicle during the incident.

Weeks later, on August 7, police responded to another troubling report involving Santos’ oldest child. Officers found the boy walking along a road wearing a T-shirt and shorts but no shoes. The child reportedly told police that his mother had taken him to a cousin’s home, but he left because he did not want to stay there and began walking home. When officers later located Santos, she reportedly told them her children were safe at different houses.

Authorities subsequently encountered Santos in another incident in which officers reportedly found her passed out on the floor of her Chevrolet Tahoe. Her two older children were outside the vehicle and told police that their mother was sleeping. Officers described Santos as uncooperative and administered a breath test, which reportedly registered a blood alcohol concentration of 0.196. Police also found empty alcohol containers inside the vehicle.

Santos remains in custody at the Grand Forks County Jail as the federal case proceeds. Her next court date had not been publicly listed in the report. The allegations have not been proven in court, and the case remains ongoing.

Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/crime/mom-backed-over-toddler-during-prayer-service-then-abandoned-shoeless-child-on-road-weeks-later-feds/