Mother is jailed after being caught cycling with kids in a milk crate

An Indianapolis woman who was caught cycling her twin babies across the city in a crate strapped to her bicycle has been jailed for a year for neglect.

Blossum Kirby, 36, was arrested last July after a string of witnesses called the police to report the shocking situation. Authorities say that one man believed Kirby had toys in the crate until he saw one of the babies move an arm.

The man and his coworkers at Just Pizza approached Kirby and found that two unrestrained two-month-old babies were laying in the crate.

The witnesses called medics and told officers that Kirby struggled to stay awake as they waited for police officers to arrive.

Court documents state that Kirby told officers that she transported the babies in the crate as she did not own a car and that she did not see what was wrong with it.

Police said that the crate was attached to the front of the bike with a bungee cord and that the babies were wearing only diapers, despite temperatures being in the mid-80s.

Medics told investigators that the infant girl had “sunburns, abrasions on her left hand, and minor scratches to her body.”

The infant boy also had sunburns and minor scratches, a wound to the groin and an extreme rash.

Both babies were taken to Riley Hospital for Children in the city for treatment.

Kirby was found guilty on 22 May on both child neglect counts by a Marion County jury. She was sentenced to two years in prison with one year suspended for both counts, meaning she will spend one year behind bars and one year on probation.

Police said at the time of the arrest that the Department of Child Services had been notified of the case, but the agency says that confidentiality laws prevent them from commenting on the babies.