Pictures taken by a small-town Ohio police department showing a couple allegedly overdosed on heroin in their car, the woman's son ignored in the back, circulated widely on social media on Friday as evidence of an epidemic in use of the drug.

The images were posted on the Facebook page of the East Liverpool, Ohio Police Department, along with an officer's report of the incident that led to the arrest of James Acord and Rhonda Pasek on child endangerment charges.

The photos show Acord, 50, and Pasek, 47, passed out in the front seat of their Ford Explorer, their mouths agape, as the child stares silently into the camera from the back.

The post had generated 20,000 shares and nearly 3,000 comments as of Friday afternoon, about 24 hours later.

According to a police report posted along with the pictures, an officer driving his personal vehicle approached Acord's car after seeing it weaving erratically back and forth before drifting to a stop in the roadway.

Read more on Reuters.