Pubdate: Thu, 22 Nov 2001
Source: Roanoke Times (VA)
Copyright: 2001 Roanoke Times
Contact:  http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/368
Author: Mike Allen
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?186 (Oxycontin)

MOTHER SENTENCED FOR TODDLER'S OVERDOSE

16-month-old Girl Swallowed Oxycontin And Xanax

Lisa Chaney Will Serve 18 Months, Plus A Previously Suspended 2-year 
Sentence On Another Charge.

ROCKY MOUNT - A Ferrum woman who police say allowed her 16-month-old 
daughter to overdose on a potentially deadly painkiller pleaded guilty to 
felony child neglect Wednesday in Franklin County Circuit Court.

Lisa Chaney, 24, was sentenced to 18 months in jail. She will also serve a 
previously suspended 2-year sentence for fraudulently acquiring another 
prescription drug, Commonwealth's Attorney Cliff Hapgood said.

Chaney's husband, Kevin, 27, also is charged with felony child neglect. His 
jury trial had been scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed until Monday, 
Hapgood said.

On June 5, the toddler was brought to Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital 
by her grandparents, who noticed during a visit that the girl was having 
breathing problems.

The hospital discovered chemical components that indicated the girl had 
ingested OxyContin, a powerful painkiller, and Xanax, an anti-anxiety 
medication, police said. The level of OxyContin in the toddler's blood was 
double that of a standard adult dosage, Hapgood said.

The girl was taken to Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital and kept in the 
pediatric intensive care unit for two days. Hospital officials said she was 
in good health when she was released.

The hospital notified the Franklin County Department of Social Services, 
which removed the toddler and her 6-year-old sister from the Chaneys' 
custody and placed them in the care of their grandparents.

It remains unclear how the baby ingested the drugs. The parents have said 
that she swallowed pills that had been spilled on the floor, police said.

Kevin Chaney had several prescriptions for different dosages of OxyContin, 
but authorities don't know which dosage pills the baby took. Chaney told 
authorities he threw the pills out the car window on the way to the 
hospital, Hapgood said.

Since 1997, at least 55 deaths in Virginia have been attributed to drugs 
with oxycodone, the active ingredient in OxyContin.
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