Mental Health

Mom Suffering from Post-Partum Depression behind Capitol Hill Chase

By Jennifer Broderick | Update Date: Oct 04, 2013 01:04 PM EDT

A new mom from Connecticut is behind the Capitol Hill chase near the White House on Thursday which left her dead after a police shot and killed her.

Miriam Carey, 34, a dental hygienist tried to drive through barricades at the White House and then led police on a car chase around Capitol Hill. Police opened fire on the car, killing her but luckily her 1-year-old daughter was found in the backseat uninjured and taken to the hospital.

Carey was driving a black Infiniti sedan when, just after 2 p.m. ET, she struck a security fence outside the White House. She took off after hitting a Secret Service officer with her car.

Carey's mother told ABC News that her daughter suffered from post-partum depression. Idella Carey, told ABC News on Thursday night that her daughter began suffering from post-partum depression after giving birth to her daughter, Erica, last August.

"A few months later, she got sick," she said. "She was depressed. ... She was hospitalized."

Postpartum depression is depression suffered by a mother following childbirth, which is usually caused following the combination of hormonal changes, psychological adjustment to motherhood, and fatigue. Postpartum depression can make a woman feel very sad, hopeless, and worthless. The new mother may have trouble caring for and bonding with your baby, according to WebMd.

Miriam Carey has no history of violence and authorities have yet to determine a motive for the unexpected behavior. A report by NBC news cites Carey had severe mental health issues and believed President Barack Obama was talking her.

Meanwhile, Carey's former boss, dentist Brian Evans from Advanced Periodontics, in Hamden, Conn., told the New York Daily News that she "fell down some stairs and she had a pretty significant head injury" in recent years.

A Capitol police officer was hurt in the incident on Thursday as he was speeding to confront her and hit a barrier that popped up in the street. The two injured officers were exempt from the government shutdown and required to work but were not being paid.

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