Pomona police rescue child trapped in washing machine

kcal9 los angeles ^ | may-25-2003 | kcal 9 /AP

[green team 1999]

Pomona police rescue child trapped in washing machine

Sunday May 25, 2003

POMONA, Calif. (AP) A 2-year-old girl was rescued from a locked, running washer at a coin laundry Saturday night and her mother was arrested after a surveillance tape allegedly showed her putting the child into the machine, police said.

An officer smashed the window of the machine with his baton to rescue the girl, who was pulled unconscious but breathing at about 5:30 p.m., authorities said.

The machine was in its agitation phase and the child was ``submerged in water,'' police Sgt. Matt Stone said.

``She wasn't drowned but she was getting there,'' Los Angeles County fire Capt. Dan Ramirez said.

The girl was taken to a hospital in serious condition. She had cuts, scrapes, bruises and had inhaled some water but was expected to survive, Stone said.

Her mother, Erma Osborne, 35, of Pomona, later was arrested for investigation of child endangerment.

Surveillance camera footage showed that the woman placed her daughter in one washer, then removed her and placed her in a second front-loading washer, which turned on when she closed the door, Stone said.

The machine apparently locks automatically when the wash cycle begins and will not unlock until it ends, Ramirez said.

Frantic efforts by the girl's parents and bystanders to unlock the door failed.

It was not immediately clear why the child was placed in the machine, authorities said.

for information and discusion only,not for profit etc,etc.

[green team 1999]

unbelievable

[HiTech RedNeck]

"Splish splash I was taking a bath..."

[strela]

Attempted murder. Lock up the bad mother for the rest of her life.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Her mother, Erma Osborne, 35, of Pomona, later was arrested for investigation of child endangerment.

You know, if that had been a cat or dog the punishment would probably be worse

[green team 1999]

yes,but is california

[green team 1999]

she is not going to serve time and the child possible will be left with the mother,soft judges

[Mr. Mojo]

An officer smashed the window of the machine with his baton to rescue the girl,

Why didn't he just open it up?

[Mr. Mojo]

The machine apparently locks automatically when the wash cycle begins and will not unlock until it ends

I see now.

[I still care]

It is unbelievable, but reading between the lines I am not sure this is her trying to kill or punish the child. It almost sounds like she was trying to use the washer as a playpen, and it had time left on it and she didn't realize it. If that is so I bet she has done this any number of times before. It says they were frantically attempting to rescue her, and doesn't say anything about her putting money in it. It also says that the washer automatically starts and locks when the door is closed.

Even if that is true, putting your child in a closed washing machine is pretty stupid. Half a brain could recognize that is "child endangerment". I'll be she thought she was pretty smart coming up with a way to keep the kid from running around the laundromat.

[green team 1999]

is one of those big front loading machines,it won`t open until finish the cycle,and the glass window is small and thick,a real nightmare,

[Judith Anne]

The article says the machine locks when it starts up, won't unlock till the load is done. ;-D

[gcruse]

What you say makes a lot of sense.
And there are plenty of stuuuuupid people.

[Mo1]

Even if that is true, putting your child in a closed washing machine is pretty stupid. Half a brain could recognize that is "child endangerment".

And this is the reason for all those Warning Labels

I agree, I don't think she meant to harm her child, but she is guitly of being an idiot

[I still care]

I know, its amazing, isn't it? I've run into them more than once.

I once had a tenant that called from MY house threatening to plant a bomb at the electric company if they didn't turn on her electricity. She couldn't understand why I had a fit. It seemed a great way to get their attention to her.

You know when you are a landlord you meet these people everyday. You wonder how they get through life.

The sad thing is, they have children.

[Chad_the_Impaler]

Something is missing ... why were police at the scene to do the rescue?

[yonif]

Her mother, Erma Osborne, 35, of Pomona, later was arrested for investigation of child endangerment.

An investigation? What does it look like?

[I still care]

The same tenant went out and loaded up her fridge with hundreds of dollars of food for a hurricane warning (the one that took out the electric), never realizing that when hurricanes come you lose your electric....

As far as the police go, it doesn't say they were on the scene. In fact, it says the kid was half drowned by the time they got there. Cops can come pretty fast if they get a call a kid is drowning.

On LI where I lived the cops were never more than a minute away. I remember one night I heard a girl screaming in a backyard on my block, I called the cops and by the time I got out to the front porch there were two cars in front of my house.

Here in FL that's another story...

[yonif]

But if she was just playing, why place coins in the machine?

[I still care]

I'm just guessing of course, but it doesn't say she placed coins in it. Sometimes machines have coins in them already, and you don't realize it.

Just last week I went to the stamp machine in the PO, and someone had walked off leaving almost a dollar in change in the machine. It was waiting for the next order, and when I put in my order for 2 stamps, I got them for free.

I've never experienced that in a washer in a laundromat, but there is often leftover times in dryers. In any case, this woman is in a boatload of trouble. Even if don't mean them to go, those washers look airtight, pretty scary.

[zook]

"well now ya know ya can't be mollycoddling these kids all the time!" (I think this is a near-quote from Barney Fife.)