Florida woman gives birth in motel tub, chews off umbilical cord during crack binge

An infant is in critical condition after his mother told police she gave birth in a motel bathtub following a 24-hour crack binge.

37-year-old Chrystal Hassell told authorities that she, her 11-month-old child and her boyfriend checked into the Vacation Inn Hotel in Ocala, Florida on Friday night, according to News13. She indicated that even though she was only 7 months pregnant she began going into labor after smoking crack for an entire day.

During this tragic scene, Hassell’s boyfriend and father of the baby, Vincent Terry, left the room with the 11-month-old (the photo above is from that pregnancy) to “run an errand.” While they were gone Hassell gave birth to the baby boy all by herself in the bathtub and chewed off the umbilical cord with her teeth.

Instead of dialing 911 after realizing that her newborn wasn’t breathing she called Terry informing him of the situation and requested that he hurry back to the hotel to help. When Terry got the call he put his foot to the floor but got pulled over on the way and was arrested because he was wanted for attempted murder in Colorado.

Chrystal Hassell / Vincent Terry

Hassell told investigators that she gave the infant breaths for nearly an hour until she realized that Terry was not returning. It was at this point that she dialed 911.

The newborn was airlifted to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, where he is listed in critical condition.

Both Hassell and Terry were taken to the Marion County Jail. The mother faces charges of child neglect while Terry is awaiting extradition to Colorado.

According to the Ocala Star Banner, the baby as well as the 11-month-old child were taken into protective custody by the Florida Department of Children and Families. The 11-month-old has since been placed under foster care.

Hassell is on suicide watch. Following her arrest she told authorities that she’s been battling drug abuse since her teenage years and that she has another child, 16, who was born addicted to drugs. During his interview, Terry stated that he was unaware Hassell was abusing drugs in the time frame before the birth of their child.