9NewsA three-year-old girl had to be rushed to hospital after she accidentally ate a drug given to her while she was trick-or-treating.
Abby Van Der Spuy, from Bacchus Marsh, Melbourne, was out celebrating Halloween with her mum Tara, when she was unknowingly given anti-psychotic medication in her bucket of sweets.
Later in the evening, the young girl began to exhibit strange symptoms and started to cough, telling her mother she didn’t feel very well.
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Tara said her daughter claimed to have eaten something ‘yucky’ before coming down with the cough at around 8pm last night. October 31, after which the toddler became ‘zonked and wobbly on her feet,’ she told 9News.
It was at this point the concerned mum discovered around five or six tablets of the anti-psychotic medication Seroquel – used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder – in a zip-lock bag within Abby’s Halloween bucket.
Neighbours who witnessed the incident rushed to help and called emergency services just after 8pm, with an ambulance arriving shortly afterwards as paramedics were ‘urgent about getting her to hospital.’
9NewsOne neighbour, Eva Savav-Tancev, praised Tara for her composure, describing her as ‘Superman’ and adding: ‘She was concerned about getting the child some medical help and getting her husband to come down and looking after her other three children at the same time.’
Victoria Police are investigating, but told the Independent it’s believed there was ‘no malicious intent’ behind the incident.
A police spokesperson said:
Police are investigating after a three-year-old child became ill while trick or treating on Hallets Way in Bacchus Marsh just after 8pm last night. The child’s mother noticed that the little girl was not well and an ambulance was called. The child was taken to hospital for observation.
Investigators have been told that the child may have ingested a prescription medication and are currently making enquiries as to how this happened. At this stage in the early investigation, it is not believed there is any malicious intent surrounding this incident.
9NewsThe spokesperson went on to say police are treating this as an ‘isolated incident,’ explaining they have not received any other reports of any similar incidents in the area.
The three-year-old is currently in a stable condition in Sunshine Hospital, but Tara said she is still very groggy.
Anyone with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
We hope Abby makes a full and speedy recovery.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).