Mom arrested for child neglect, hit & run

TOWAMENCIN TWP., Pa. - January 19, 2012 (WPVI) -- A Montgomery County mom was arrested for child neglect then charged with a hit and run after she was released from police custody.

It all began around noon on Sunday, January 15th when police were called to Pudges Restaurant at 1555 Sumneytown Pike in Towamencin Township.

There, officers encountered two children, 5 and 8 years old, who were being cared for by restaurant staff. The children told police they had come into the restaurant because they were cold and needed something to drink.

The children were not dressed appropriately for the weather, investigators said, which was about 25 degrees with a wind child factor of 12 degrees at the time. Police learned the children lived in the 1500 block of Dean Drive.

Officers went to the home and, after repeated attempts to get her to the door, finally encountered 32-year-old Christina Fitzwater. Police say Fitzwater did not know the whereabouts of the children and had not seen them for hours.

She also allegedly said that she claimed to have left the children in the care of another child, a 12-year-old that had actually left the home the night before.

Fitzwater was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of children, possession of drug paraphernalia and other charges. The children were placed with a relative and Fitzwater was held on $5,000 bail.

The next day, at 10:52 p.m., police responded to a hit-and-run crash in the 1400 block of Village Way. Officers were told that a parked car had been hit by another vehicle and fled with sparks flying.

Police found that vehicle and pulled it over. They identified the driver as Fitzwater, who apparently was free after posting bail.

She was taken into custody once more and released pending a summons for DUI, leaving the scene of a crash and other charges.

However, police filed to have her bail revoked and, on Wednesday, she was arrested once more and held on $25,000 cash bail.

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pennsylvania, montgomery county, children, hit and run, crime

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