Teacher arrested after four-year-old ingested ethanol under her watch

Daily Mail​

25-05-2025

A teacher in Alabama was arrested after a four-year-old student ingested a large amount of ethanol under her watch, according to police.
Tracy Walker, a special education teacher at Collins-Rhodes Elementary School in Mobile, was arrested Wednesday - weeks after little Algeria Singleton was picked up from school on April 28 with a blood alcohol level of nearly 0.29.
The girl's mother, Mary Singleton, said neither she nor her husband, Albert, 47, were contacted by the school about their daughter's alarming condition, which left her limp and 'slobbering at the mouth.'
Algeria was rushed to Children's and Women's Hospital in Mobile, where she spent two days in the ICU. She is now recovering at home.
Doctors found she had consumed a large amount of ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, which is commonly found in products like hand sanitizers, skincare items, perfumes, and some food packaging materials, according to the Chemical Safety Facts Organization.
Soon after the terrifying incident, the Mobile County Sheriff's Office took over the investigation and interviewed the four-year-old, who said her teacher gave her a drink that made her feel ill, WALA reported.
Walker, who frequently posts about her life as a teacher on social media, was charged with aggravated child abuse.
She was released on $25,000 bond on Friday following a court appearance. Walker has also been ordered to submit a drug and alcohol test as a condition of her bond, according to the outlet.
When Algeria's worried parents first arrived at the school that dreadful day they immediately knew something was wrong.
'The school teachers came out to the van with her, but they was carrying her instead of her walking,' Mary told WKRG.
'The nurse, she broke it down as to where she probably felt like it was like an ear infection. But it was nothing of that nature.'
The teacher then handed the child to her parents, urging them to seek emergency care.
'She was slobbering at the mouth, she was heavy, and the teacher handed her to me, saying we probably needed to take her to the ER,' Mary said.
After tests were run, medical professionals found their daughter's blood-alcohol content was recorded at 0.29 percent - more than four times the legal driving limit of 0.08 percent for adults in Alabama.
'How is this even possible?' Albert asked. 'Where was the supervision?'
Albert said his daughter was unresponsive from about 3 pm, when they picked her up at school, until around 3 am the next morning.
The family said they did not plan to send her back to the school for the rest of the year.
After hearing their child's teacher was arrested in connection to the horrible crime, Albert said he was pleased someone is being held responsible.
'I feel good that it's a step towards justice- that someone is being held accountable, someone directly. Still perplexed as to what the substance was,' he told WALA.
The exact circumstances around how ethanol got into Algeria's system still remain unclear, but Sgt. Lonnie Parsons with the Mobile County Sheriff's Office said the department is committed to getting all the answers they need.
'The student aid who walked in noticed that the child was still asleep whenever she was there,' Parsons said of the day the incident took place.
'Normally, this child is one of the first ones awake--she's happy, and she wants to get on with her day. When she noticed that something was amiss, she went over and tried to wake the child up. The child awoke and was very sluggish.'
With no clear knowledge of how the horrific incident unfolded, Parsons said he has many questions.
'We have other questions as to A- how did it get into the school, B- what other children may be involved? We have to reach out to the local community and say- has your child experienced this? Have they went through anything that would be suspicious involving this teacher? If you have, please reach out to us so we can seek justice for you as well,' Parsons explained.
When investigators attempted to interview Walker she requested legal counsel.
This is also not the first complaint against the teacher, faculty and staff told investigators.
It is unclear what those complaints are but they are currently being investigated, Parsons stated.
On the same day as her court hearing, Walker's family member took to Facebook, claiming she 'has been unjustly accused of a serious crime.'
'While you may or may not be acquainted with her, I can assure you that she is an exceptionally kind and committed child of God, who would never perpetrate the act of which she has been accused,' they added.
Rena Philips, the director of communications for the district, told WALA Walker has been placed on administrative leave.
'We take all allegations seriously. The teacher was placed on administrative leave when this allegation was first made.
'We have been cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation, and we will continue working with them.'