Police: boy abandoned in car by intoxicated stepfather Ashton Frierson

Douglasville police say bystanders found a child abandoned in a hot car and when officers tracked down the stepfather he was intoxicated as well as incoherent.

The incident happened on September 11, when many observed a somber day in our country's history.

It was around 5:30 in the afteoon when a number of eyewitnesses spotted a little boy, 5, in the back seat of a car abandoned in a lane of busy traffic on Timber Mill Ridge near Priestly Mill Road in Douglasville.

Police say the car apparently had broken down and the driver was nowhere to be found.

Captain J.R. Davidson with Douglasville Police says a number of eyewitnesses rescued the little boy from the hot car with windows rolled up.

"They took the child out of the car. He was obviously upset and sweating and they took him over to the side of the road and consoled him and called 911, said Davidson.

Davidson says Douglasville police arrived and located the little boy's mother who led them to 23-year-old Ashton Frierson, described as the boy's stepfather.

Davidson says police found Frierson at home intoxicated and incoherent.

Davidson says Frierson denied leaving the little boy alone in the car.

Frierson was arrested at his home and taken to jail, according to police. Frierson has been charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct and felony child cruelty.

Captain Davidson says the felony charge was leveled against Frierson because of potential harm to the 5-year-old boy.

”It's one thing to get lost in the store. It's another thing to be sitting in the back seat of a car at an intersection and your patents just leave you on purpose seemingly , it would be terrifying for a child to go through that, said Davidson.

Frierson remains at the Douglas County jail without bond, awaiting his next court appearance.

Police say the child is safe with his mother.