LAKE CITY, Florida — For the second time in three months, a Columbia County woman has endangered the life of a child, investigators say.
The Columbia County Sheriff's Office responded to a parked car in front of a Lake City home June 2 after being alerted by OnStar vehicle assistance which heard baby noises inside the car.
Upon arrival, the officer said he found Kristina Bowermaster, 43, passed out in the passenger side of the vehicle. The officer also found a child, approximately a year old, in the driver's side of the vehicle playing with the keys.
The officer was able to open the driver's side door and wake up Bowermaster. He said the woman and the child were both sweating heavily, also noting that the child had a very full diaper.
An older child was inside the home at the time, and told police he wasn't aware Bowermaster and the child were outside in the truck.
Bowermaster told police she remembers her boyfriend driving the truck earlier but then leaving her and the child inside the vehicle unattended.
Police searched her boyfriend's house for drugs but didn't find any. However, they did find drug paraphernalia "related to the consumption of methamphetamine/crack" in a nightstand in the master bedroom.
The Florida Department of Children and Families were contacted and responded to the incident. Bowermaster was arrested and charged with child neglect.
This was the second time in the last three months Bowermaster was arrested for child endangerment. On March 18, she was found asleep inside her car in a Busy Bee parking lot with a child in the back seat. A cut straw found inside the vehicle tested positive for meth, police said.