By Associated Press

May 25, 2003, 7:41 AM EDT


POMONA, Calif. -- A 2-year-old girl was rescued from a locked, running washer at a coin laundry and her mother was arrested after a surveillance tape allegedly showed her putting the child into the machine, police said.

An officer smashed the window of the machine with his baton to rescue the girl, who was "submerged in water," police Sgt. Matt Stone said.

The child was unconscious when she was pulled from the washer Saturday but breathing. She was taken to a hospital where she was listed in serious condition with cuts, scrapes, bruises. She had inhaled some water but was expected to survive, Stone said.

Her mother, Erma Osborne, 35, of Pomona, later was arrested for investigation of child endangerment and held on $10,000 bail.

Surveillance camera footage showed that the woman placed her daughter in one washer, then removed her and placed her in a second front-loading washer, which turned on when she closed the door, Stone said.

"She wasn't drowned but she was getting there," Los Angeles County fire Capt. Dan Ramirez said.

The machine apparently locks automatically when the wash cycle begins and does not unlock until the cycle ends, Ramirez said.

Efforts by the girl's mother and bystanders to unlock the door failed.

Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press

[url]http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-laundromat-rescue,0,975494.story?coll=sns%2Dap%2Dnationworld%2Dheadlines[/url]

motherfucker....

Uh....shouldn't the charge be attempted murder?

She tried one washer and for some reason did not approve, so she took the child out and put her in another. This is obviously pre-meditated. They even have it on video, seems like an open and shut case to me.

[b]WTF???[/b]  What was this woman thinking putting her child inside a washing machine in the first place?  Also, I don't know about you, but, I don't put money in the machine until after everything is set and ready to go.  From the sound of the article, the machine had been "paid" and turned on and was just waiting for the door to be shut to start.  Too much chance of accidentally shutting the door and washing nothing (this for general purposes, not the situation with the child)  I say sentence her to working a week at the local fairs dunk tank with an easy trip latch and a huge target.  Put up a sign that this woman put her child in a washing machine and donate the proceeds to charity.  I would gladly pay for a shot at this one.

I thought that myself until I noticed that she did try to get the girl out.  I believe that it was a case of using the machine to put her daughter in instead of setting her in a basket or carrier.  Sorta baby sitting wash machine.  

It doesn't sound like she intentionally meant harm to the girl to me. It sounds like she is a fucking moron.

There's been a couple of times that I would have liked to lock my kids in the washing machine, especially at two years old, but what kind of an idiot would really do it?

This is exactly what is wrong with kids these days.....extremely stupid parents....

Ban the Washing Machines...... for the children

Was it a pre or post ban washing machine??

Good God, it was one of those child killing fully automatic washing machines.  I'll bet if you looked at it closely it also had the extra large capacity drum.  At one time when many people worked in jobs where they were exposed to high levels of dirt these machines had a purpose but not in our modern society.  Ban the fully automatic washing machine.

If not, at least require an IQ test to operate one of the things.[;)]

Was the mother a blonde?  It was CA, wasn't it?  Maybe she thought it was an elevator.

[>:/] I guess we will have to wait and see the outcome, but something sure does sound screwy with this story.

We need child-safety devices to prevent washing machines from running when there's a child inside.

Seriously, I just started my first cup of coffee so when I first read this subject I thought of a "California girl" a la Beach Boys - About 18 years old with long blonde hair in a bikini - who got herself stuck in a washing machine.  The actual story woke me up.

What good did the LOCKING MECHANISM do in this case?

The mom was probably high on drugs. Before people are allowed to have children, they should be required to take a written exam on how to be a good parent, and issued a license good for 2 years like they do for guns.
=========================================================
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

[url=http://www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205%7E24512%7E1414357,00.html?search=filter#]Toddler nearly drowns inside washing machine[/url]

Saturday, May 24, 2003 - A woman was arrested Saturday night after Pomona police say she placed her 2-year-old daughter inside a coin-operated washing machine, only to find that a self-locking door prevented her from getting her child out.

The toddler was tossed, turned and nearly drowned inside the spinning washer before being dramatically rescued by two Pomona police officers, one of whom bashed in the washing machine window before they pulled the little girl out, Pomona police Sgt. Matt Stone said.

It was not immediately clear how long the child - who was expected to survive her injuries - was trapped inside the washer, Stone said.

The girl suffered cuts, bruises and scrapes as well as taking in some amount of water. She was first taken by ambulance to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center before being transferred to Childrens Hospital inLos Angeles for treatment, Stone said.

It was not immediately clear why the woman placed her child inside the washer. But a review of surveillance camera footage at Lucy's Laundrymart at 365 W. Holt Ave. indicated that the mother, identified as 35- year-old Erma Osborne of Pomona, had placed her daughter in one other washer, then took her out before placing her in a second washer.

When Osborne closed the door on the second washer, the machine turned on and the front door locked, causing her to become frantic when she realized she couldn't open it, Stone said.

The front-loading washer apparently had a door that automatically locked when the wash cycle began and didn't unlock until it ended, Los Angeles County fire Capt. Dan Ramirez said.

Osborne was later booked into Pomona City Jail on suspicion of child endangerment. Her bail was set at $100,000, Stone said.

The little girl's parents and others frantically tried to break open the washer without success. Pomona police Cpl. Tim Bergmann and Officer Willie Mortaya were the first officers to respond to the 5:30 p.m. emergency call and found the girl locked inside the washer and submerged in water.

One of the officers used his baton to break open the glass on the washer door; while one officer held the little girl's leg to keep her from getting thrashed around the spinning washer, the other pulled her out, Stone said.

Firefighters arrived just as the officers were running out of the coin laundry with the girl - unconscious but breathing - in their arms, Ramirez said.

"She wasn't drowned,' he said. "But she was getting there.'

I agree,but, if we Ban all bodies of water and water in general then no one could drown......especially the children