Husband Says Mom Who Left Children At Gas Station Blacked Out
THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4) - A mother is out of jail after allegedly leaving her children at a gas station.
The children are okay, and now the woman's husband is looking for answers.
Sarah Hatfield, 25, reportedly left her 2 and 4-year-old sons in her family van at a parking lot in Thornton on Saturday. She was found 10 hours later on Jackson Street, near National Jewish Medical Center.
Matt Hatfield, her husband, told CBS4 at the Adams County Jail that he thought he would never see his wife again.
"We really have more questions than we have answers right now," he said. "The last 6 months to a year she's been having progressively worse sleeping issues and progressively increasing migraines."
Her family says she left behind her cellphone, wallet and keys.
Matt Hatfield says his wife blacked out, that she had no explanation for why she left her children.
"She was panicked. She was crying and frantic. She genuinely sounded like she didn't know where she was or why she was there," Matt Hatfield said.
Sarah Hatfield is being evaluated for medical and mental health and any possible foul play issues. Doctors believe she may have had a seizure.
Dr. Ed Maa, a neurologist, isn't treating Sarah Hatfield but says migraines and seizures leading to confusion and memory loss are surprisingly prevalent.
"There are certain types of migraines that lead to confusion," Maa said. "Single, isolated seizures are even more common. In fact one in 10 people can have a seizure in their lifetime. Some people can then, following waking up from the seizure, have no recollection of the event itself and even for some period of time before then."
Sarah Hatfield doesn't have a criminal past and family members say she is a good mother. Her family hopes there is both a diagnosis and treatment to explain her behavior.
If there isn't a medical explanation police say Sarah Hatfield is likely to face child abuse charges.
