Wandering, bleeding toddler leads to mother’s arrest

A toddler with a serious cut to his ankle was found playing in the street Tuesday evening, and his mother is under arrest for child neglect.

Columbus police say that they were called to Smith Street and McKinley Avenue at about 5:50 p.m. yesterday evening and found the toddler, who had a soiled diaper and was bleeding heavily. A witness reported seeing another child playing in front of a home and that child answered the door holding a large pair of scissors.

Police couldn’t get an adult to come to the door or answer and eventually entered the home, where they found 29-year-old Teagan J. Gray unconscious on the couch. After being woken up, she admitted to being the children’s mother and said she had taken meth earlier in the day. Police say they found a broken beer mug and a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire inside the home.

Gray was arrested on a charge of neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury and the children were taken into the custody of the Department of Child Protective Services.