A girl who was born on the street and then ‘dragged around by her umbilical cord’ by her homeless mother was rescued by medical staff.
Doctors initially feared the child would not survive when paramedics discovered last week that she was breathing but still still and lifeless.
Her mother, a 41-year-old homeless woman named Ashley, was arrested and released on bail pending further investigation.
The street above is where the woman reportedly gave birth and then dragged the baby by the umbilical cord in Hilo, Hawaii
The birth took place near the intersection of Keawe Street and Mamo Street
It’s just the latest debilitating update in America’s dire opioid crisis, which has also seen addicts filming births on the streets of San Francisco and shooting in broad daylight in Philadelphia.
Hawaii Police were called to the harrowing incident in Hilo on Tuesday, January 16 around 5:15 p.m.
Captain Rio Amon-Wilkins, of the police department, said Island news: “The first call came in that she was actually walking on the sidewalk and dragging the baby.
“Fire crews turned up and an ambulance, but the female was still connected to the baby via the umbilical cord.
“So they cut the umbilical cord, took the baby to the ambulance to provide medical attention and then took the baby to the hospital.”
He added: ‘Thankfully the baby was not actually injured in this incident – which was initially reported.
“She is in good condition, as the doctors told us.”
Locals told the publication that the homeless woman is named Ashley and has been living in the rough area for at least a decade.
She is described as sometimes calm and sometimes erratic. The mother has also been hit by a car before and regularly bumps into moving traffic.
She reappeared in the area on Thursday, but locals say when they approached her, she had “no memory” of giving birth.
There are no reports that the woman was a drug user.
Public births – or births that take place in public – are rare, but experts say they do happen.
In April last year, a homeless woman was also filmed giving birth on a sidewalk in San Francisco, in the infamous Tenderloin neighborhood.
The clip showed her lying on her side with her pants pulled down as she tried to rock the newborn.
And last December, a homeless woman gave birth to a baby on the streets of Honolulu before dumping the child in a garbage bin.
Street corners in many major American metropolises – including San Francisco and New York City – now appear to have become lawless areas that have been completely taken over by the homeless.
This is due to substance abuse, fueled by overprescribing of opioids, along with problems such as rents that outpace wage increases and a lack of social services to support those most at risk.
Once on the streets, many are at risk of being exposed to illicit substances – including heroin, ecstasy and others – and becoming addicted.
America is currently in the grip of an opioid crisis, with an estimated 112,000 people having died from drug use alone by August 2023 – a record for that time of year.