It Appears we Have A New Drug EPIDEMIC On Our Hands: BATH SALTS.

Ky. police think mom struck toddler found on road

BENTON, Ky. (AP) -- Police investigators now think a Tennessee woman suspecting of snorting a stimulant marketed as bath salts might have used a folding stool to hit her toddler, who was found on Interstate 24 with a serious head injury.

At a preliminary hearing Wednesday for Cynthia Palmer, Kentucky State Police Trooper Trey Green said both a doctor and the boy's older brother indicated the 2-year-old's injuries were not from falling or being dropped, according to The Paducah Sun.

Palmer, 29, of Clarksville, Tenn., was found in the median of I-24 late on Feb. 28 with her older son, Caleb. A deputy found 2-year-old Jeremiah Austin Palmer in the passing lane and moved him to safety.

Police believe Cynthia Palmer was hallucinating after snorting bath salts, a stimulant similar to methamphetamine.

"Caleb said his mother believed Austin was a demon or evil spirit, and that's why she hit him," Green testified.

Palmer is charged with wanton endangerment, first-degree assault, public intoxication, aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Marshall District Judge Jack Telle found sufficient reason to send the case to a grand jury. He scheduled Palmer to appear in Marshall Circuit Court on May 2.

Caleb indicated that his mother pulled over because she thought there was a bomb in the car, but he tried to tell her it wasn't real, the newspaper reported.

Austin tried to follow his mother and brother away from the car, but collapsed in the passing lane, Green said. Caleb tried to get him to stand up, Green said.

Austin couldn't get up and his mother continued walking a distance police estimated at 50 yards before sitting down on the other side of the interstate's westbound lanes.

The injured boy underwent surgery in Louisville for a head injury that exposed his brain. The boy will need at least one more surgery but is now out of the hospital, walking and talking.

But doctors may not know the extent of his neurological impairment for years.

Dr. Andrea Toroli, assistant professor of pediatric forensics at Kosair Children's Hospital, told Green the depth of Austin's skull fractures indicated he had been hit on the head with a blunt object.

"She said this is not at all consistent with a child being dropped," Green testified.

Caleb indicated that his mother hit his brother with a box-like object, like a chair that folds into a box. Officers found two folding stools in the family car.

Both boys are in foster care in Tennessee.

Editor's note: Go here to read more, and let's do something about it.