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"It's really the bright side of this story," said Town of Newburgh Police Lt. James Nenni.
The story of the baby started around 10 a.m. on Nov. 1, when police received a call from an employee at the Budget Inn on Route 9W who found blood covering the room after entering to clean.
Sgt. Ted Brucato and officers Julia Haight and Conner Stenglein raced to the hotel and entered the hotel room. Within seconds of searching for a victim, they found the baby boy floating in the toilet, not breathing.
According to police, the baby was cold to the touch and not responding. The officers immediately began trying to bring him back to life, and to their amazement, the little guy began to kick and move.
They wrapped him sheets to keep him warm until EMS arrived on the scene, Nenni said.
The baby was taken to St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in the City of Newburgh by the Town of Newburgh Emergency Medical Services where he continued to improve. Children Services were contacted right away.
While the drama at the hotel was taking place, another one was also underway as police looked for the mother of the child.
Police had been told that the woman staying in the room had left the hotel in a taxi cab about a half-hour before police arrived, Nenni said.
Police immediately put out a call and within a couple of hours Teresa Rose Smith 23, of Newburgh, was found by City of Newburgh police walking along a street.
"She was transported to the hospital because she was also in need of medical care," Nenni said.
Police booked her the next day on a felony reckless endangerment charge. Since then she has been charged with attempted murder, two counts of assault, reckless endangerment and abandonment of a child.
Smith is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges on Thursday.
She has been held at Orange County Jail since her arrest, on $25,000 bail or $50,000 bond.
The child is in the care of Child Protective Services.
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