UPDATED: 3/25/23, 2:22 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police have arrested a woman in connection with an apparent hazmat situation in Northeast Philadelphia on Friday. At least one person is dead and a baby is hospitalized.
Authorities arrested 22-year-old Perla Santiago-Diaz on Saturday, after emergency personnel found her, along with a man and a baby, on Friday while responding to a call about a person needing medical attention at a row home on Teesdale Street, near Frankford and Cottman avenues in Mayfair.
Authorities say they found a large amount of a white, powdery substance in the house, believed to be fentanyl.
First responders found some of the substance on the body of an unresponsive man, who was later pronounced dead. That’s when about 50 hazmat workers were called in.
Santiago-Diaz was discovered in the home with a baby. She became unresponsive in front of the medics and was given Narcan. Both Santiago-Diaz and the baby were taken to a nearby hospital.
Neighbors say they had no idea what was going on and grew frustrated as time went on without gaining any answers on the situation. Mary Tobin, who lives around the corner from the scene, feels like tragedies like this happen too often in their neighborhood.
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“Especially, what happened yesterday with the kids and finding them in dog crates, and now we have babies and all this stuff going on, like what is going on in the Northeast? Who is gonna do something? Is anyone gonna do anything?” Tobin said.
“I’m trying to live here, ya know, and be happy here and not be scared here all the time,” Tobin added. “Now it’s like, oh this happened or that happened, it’s like you cant even walk to the store, you can’t even walk the street. You can’t do anything around here anymore.”
As of now, there is no more information on the baby’s condition. The relationship between the three has not yet been made clear.
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Police did not yet say the cause. They haven’t been able to fully search the house because it still poses a risk.
Drivers have been advised to avoid the area.
This is a developing story and will be updated. Stay with KYW Newsradio for the latest.