Visalia mother arrested 8 months after infant nearly drowns

A Visalia mother has been arrested, eight months after her infant nearly drowned in the St. Johns River in Tulare County.

Investigators have found that Alejandra Hernandez was under the influence of a controlled substance when the incident occurred in June 2018.

On the day of the incident, Hernandez told Tulare County deputies the 7-month-old baby slipped off a floatation device and was swept away by the current of the river. The infant was found and given first aid and taken to a local hospital by ambulance, where it recovered.

Hernandez was booked in the Tulare County Sheriff's Department Pre-Trial Facility.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said the infant had drowned, based on information from the sheriff's office. The infant nearly drowned but survived.