SC parents charged, left child alone in smoky unit

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — The parents of a South Carolina 7-year-old face charges after Darlington firefighters found the boy alone inside a smoke-filled apartment.

The Morning News of Florence reported Saturday (http://bit.ly/tIhO7y ) that the boy’s mother said she left the child alone while she took her husband to work at a Florence restaurant.

Darlington police say the woman also said she and her husband had been using drugs earlier, and officers found drugs inside their apartment.

Police say 30-year-old Latisha Michelle Harris and 27-year-old Timothy Charles Smith were each charged with unlawful neglect of a child.

Darlington Police Chief Danny Watson said alert neighbors may have saved the boy’s life by reporting smoke coming from the apartment.

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Information from: Morning News, http://www.scnow.com