RAVENNA, Ohio — A reunion six years in the making, it comes after Heather Tuttle was stopped for a traffic violation.
“July 12, 2018, it was the first night since I brought my daughter home and nothing I was doing was making her stop screaming so I decided I was going to drive around with her,” explained Tuttle.
Tuttle said she was driving around the same block over and over to try to stop the baby from crying. She said she drove past Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Charles Hoskin nearly a dozen times before he stopped her for a lane violation; at that point, she said she was happy to be stopped.
“Just so someone would ask what was wrong, someone would see if I was OK, and someone would care enough to see if I was OK,” added Tuttle.
The single mother wasn’t OK; the new mom was battling postpartum depression.
“Because of my battle with postpartum that night could have ended very differently, it could have ended with me or Jennavieve dead or both of us,” explained Tuttle.
But the single mother said because of Hoskin and the words he told her, that night did not have a tragic ending.
When Hoskin walked up to the car, Tuttle was sobbing, and the baby was crying.
“I will just never forget him looking at me and telling me, 'Sometimes it’s OK to walk away,'” Tuttle said.
She drove home, handed her daughter to her mother, and took a break.
Six years to the day of the traffic stop, Tuttle went to the Ravenna Ohio State Highway Patrol Post.
“I got an email from my lieutenant it basically outlined the story; I called him, and I said sir I have no idea what you’re even talking about,” said Hoskin.
The interaction that means so much for Tuttle is hard for the trooper to remember.
“We’re not always bad people, I was true with her that night, honest with her. I have a couple of kids of my own, I probably told my wife the exact same thing a couple times,” Hoskin.
For the first time, Hoskin met Tuttle’s daughter. He gave her a bag filled with a stuffed animal, sunglasses and more.
Monday, the three took a ride back to where it all started. A dark night that gave way to a bright future for a mother and daughter because of the compassion of a state trooper.
“I never expected that by having a simple conversation, giving a little bit of fatherly advice on the side of the road I would have saved two people’s lives,” explained Hoskin.
Tuttle is telling her story to help other women who are battling postpartum depression. She said if her story helps one mother get the help she needs, it’s worth it.
