Local News in Brief : Where Girl, 2 1/2, Got Cocaine Is Mystery

A 2 1/2-year-old girl was in good condition Thursday after being rushed to a hospital from a day-care center in the throes of seizures apparently caused by ingesting cocaine, Los Angeles police said.

Investigators said Theresa Smalling suffered the seizures about an hour and a half after a relative dropped her off Wednesday morning at Thompson’s Learning Village, 1932 10th Ave.

“The child arrived at the day-care center at 8 a.m., and her seizures began at 9:30 a.m.,” Police Lt. Richard Iddings said. “Our medical experts say it takes half an hour for the drug to take effect with a child this age.”

While the sequence of events indicates that the child ingested the drug at the day-care center, Iddings emphasized that investigators have not determined where she obtained the cocaine.

Although they released the child’s name, investigators refused to identify her parents or the relative who drove the girl to school. Iddings described the parents as “distraught.” Cedars-Sinai Medical Center officials said a urinalysis revealed that the girl had ingested cocaine. She was expected to be released by this morning.