The mother of a 3-year-old boy who died early Wednesday has been charged with murder.

Lisa Hylton, 38, of Pulaski was charged Wednesday afternoon with felony child neglect and second-degree murder, Pulaski Police Chief Gary Roche said.

Roche said it appears the boy ingested a Schedule II controlled substance. Roche said Hylton knew the boy had ingested the drug but didn't try to get him medical attention for about 14 hours.

Police were called to a home on Mashburn Avenue at 4:38 a.m. because the boy was not breathing. The first officer to arrive, Sgt. R.D. Rucker, found the child unresponsive and in severe distress, Roche said.

Because the rescue squad was still three to four minutes away, the officer put the boy and his mother in a squad car and drove them to Pulaski Community Hospital. They arrived at 4:43 a.m.

Emergency room staff "worked feverishly to save the life of this child," Roche said in a news release.

The boy, whose name Roche declined to release, was pronounced dead at 5:38 a.m.

He said the child neglect charge stems from Hylton's apparent failure to secure medical care for her son. The boy's subsequent death from that neglect led to the murder charge.

His body was sent to the medical examiner's office in Roanoke for an autopsy.

Roche said the type of drug involved will be released after confirmation by the medical examiner.

Schedule II drugs include illegal drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine and crack, and prescription drugs such as oxycodone, morphine and Ritalin.