Deputies: Humboldt County toddler left in car dies, mother arrested

A Humboldt County woman whose 18-month-old son died after she left him alone in a car with the windows rolled up for 10 hours was arrested Wednesday, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said.

Alexandrea Raven Scott, 23, of Trinidad, was being held without bail at Mendocino County Jail on suspicion of willfully causing or permitting a child to suffer great bodily injury or death, sheriff’s officials said.

Shortly before 1:40 p.m. Wednesday, deputies were called to the Adventist Health Howard Memorial Hospital in Willits, where the woman brought the toddler, later identified as Chergery Teywoh Lew Mays. The child was discovered in the car around 1 p.m. and was dead upon arrival at the hospital, though they attempted to revive him, Capt. Greg Van Patten said.

Detectives determined Scott had left her son unattended in the backseat of a sedan in front of a Willits home where she “socialized with people” after arriving at 3 a.m., officials said. An autopsy will likely take place Tuesday, Van Patten said.

Scott, who has two other kids who are in the care of relatives, may have consumed marijuana that evening, Van Patten said.

Anyone with information about Scott and her activities between Tuesday and Wednesday are asked to call the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 707-234-2100.

You can reach Staff Writer Hannah Beausang at 707-521-5214 or hannah.beausang@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @hannahbeausang.