Baby found wandering along busy highway; parents found in 'narcotic-induced coma'

OAK HILL, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - A Brevard County woman says she was driving to a doctor's appointment in Volusia County when she noticed a baby along the highway.

"I noticed cars in front of me slowing down and that's when I noticed the baby standing from like you to me," she said.

A close call as a baby boy is found along U.S. 1 in Oak Hill.

Erica Strozier got out of her car immediately.

"I saw a little toddler, no more than 18-24 months, walking into U.S. 1.
I instantly turned around and called 911," she said.

As Erica was on the phone, "I was trying to keep the baby calm and was like, 'Come here, sweetie,' and the baby came right up to me."

She says the baby was alone.

"When I first saw him, he was looking confused. The baby was just lost, diapers soiled all the way to the ground. Body covered in nothing but mosquito bites."

When a deputy arrived, she said, "He was like 'Thank you, ma'am.'"

According to the arrest report, the deputy went to a nearby trailer park and found the baby's parents in a drug-induced coma foaming at the mouth.

Investigators say the place was filthy, with knives within reach of the baby.

"When he went into the trailer he said there was feces, food and the parents foaming all at the mouth.
When they walked out the door they weren't even concerned about the baby, they could barely stand," she said.

Deputies arrested the baby's mother and father, Yajaira Tirado and Jacob Krueger.

They're charged with child neglect.

Last year, the same deputy arrested the mother for leaving two children home alone.

Strozier, who's a grandmother, says it's sad.

"I don't know what kind of drugs they were on, but it was sickening. I just shook my head in disbelief."

Deputies say the mother blamed the landlord for not fixing a broken lock on the door.