Mom says she’s one year sober after infamous OD pic went viral

The Indiana woman whose photo went viral last year showing her strung out on heroin with her infant son in the back seat proudly shared on Facebook that she’s been sober ever since.

In the picture, Erika Hurt, of Hope, Ind., was passed out in her car from a heroin overdose on Oct. 22, 2016.

Cops said they found her in the parking lot of a Dollar General — slumped back behind the wheel — while her 10-month-old son, Parker, was crying in the back seat.

She had to be revived with the opioid antidote naloxone before she was taken to a hospital, where she was arrested for child neglect and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Police officials in Hope said they released the photo to draw attention to the heroin epidemic in the Midwest.

A year later, Hurt, now 26, reposted the viral image on Facebook — accompanied by a shot of herself with her son and a smiling selfie. She said the earlier photo depicted “the worst moment of my life” — but it ultimately helped her turn her life around, she said.

“I’ve decided to repost the picture simply because it displays exactly what heroin addiction is,” Hurt wrote. “Also because I do not want to ever forget where the road of addiction has taken me. Little did I know that day, my life was about to change, drastically. Today, I am able to focus on the good that came from that picture. Today, I am a mother to my son, again. Today, I am able to be grateful to actually have solid proof where addiction will only lead you, and today I am able to say that I am ONE YEAR SOBER!”

Hurt told NBC News that she was humiliated at first that local police had released her photo to the media and “exposed me and my addiction to the whole world.” But that perspective has changed.

“At this point in my life now, I do think it was a good thing, because I’m able to look back and see that’s who I was, and that was the place it led to,” she told the station.

After last year’s incident, Hurt pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent and was given a two-year suspended jail sentence that required her to go to an inpatient drug-rehab program at a local jail, the station reported. She signed temporary custody of her son over to her mother.

Once she finished the program, Hurt was allowed to stay at her mom’s place under house arrest — where she was reunited with Parker, who will turn 2 in December. She also began working at a plastic molding plant.

Hurt continues attending court-mandated rehab and self-help meetings — and plans to petition for custody of Parker when she is ready, she told the station.

Hope Town Marshal Matt Tallent, who released the photo, told the station his intention was never to shame Hurt into changing — but he is proud that she made that decision.

“Young people make mistakes,” he told the station. “People are allowed to make mistakes as long as they recognize it and come back stronger. That’s what this is about.”