A 29-year-old woman had a medical emergency Tuesday morning causing her to be unable to drive the car she was inside with her children. Police arrested her after finding a syringe and drug paraphernalia on the driver’s side floorboard of her car.
Bloomington Police Department Capt. Ryan Pedigo said a man called police around 6:48 a.m. after he drove past Amanda Chavarria having what looked like a seizure while driving a yellow Toyota in the Arlington Valley Mobile Park.
The witness saw Chavarria’s 9-year-old son ask a neighbor for help, so he called police and put Chavarria’s car in park. The man told police Chavarria told him not to call an ambulance because she did not want to go to jail.
Pedigo said the man flagged down police when they arrived.
When paramedics arrived, Chavarria gestured toward her throat, and they thought she was unable to breathe. Pedigo said she told paramedics she “swallowed some stuff” and they thought she smelled of alcohol.
Chavarria told officers she was on her way home from a friend’s house when she began to feel like she was being stabbed in the throat. Police said her body was wedged between the driver’s side door jam and the ground.
Chavarria’s 4-year-old, 7-year-old and 9-year-old children were in the car during the incident, Pedigo said.
Pedigo said police contacted Chavarria’s sister and wife, who both said she had a history of methamphetamine use. She has been arrested previously for possession of methamphetamine and driving while suspended. Chavarria’s wife took the children while Chavarria was taken by police to IU Health Bloomington Hospital.
Chavarria was later released from the hospital and taken to Monroe County Correctional Center. She was arrested on the preliminary charges of neglect of a dependent, operating while intoxicated and possession of a syringe.
