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Mother of 4 year old left in tow lot charged with seven counts of child neglect

Posted at 2:19 PM, Nov 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-17 20:14:04-05

The mother of a four-year-old girl left in tow lot overnight Tuesday has been charged with two counts of OWI and seven counts of child neglect.

The four-year-old girl was left alone inside a minivan overnight in a Milwaukee tow lot, Public Works Commissioner nominee Jeff Polenske said Tuesday at a news conference. 

According to a criminal complaint, many of the charges Blair Springfield is facing are related to a similar incident in September of this year. 

In the previous incident, Springfield was found unconscious and unresponsive in a drive-through of a McDonalds with five children in the vehicle. First responders gave Springfield Narcan to revive her. 

Late Monday night, an impaired Springfield  was pulled over and arrested for an OWI near N. 39th Street and W Forest Home Avenue, where the vehicle was towed. Officers removed a 10-month-old child from the vehicle, but neglected to remove a 4-year-old girl from the backseat. The 10-month old was not in a car-seat according to authorities. 

A passenger in the van with Springfield said she observed the driver falling asleep at the wheel and asked Springfield to stop. 

In an interview with the 4-year-old child, authorities say the child described her mom as "driving crazy in the van." The child fell asleep and when she woke up she "was crying for her mama."

Springfield told authorities that she had consumed a half pint of vodka earlier that night.