Single dad arrested for striking 3-year-old son, then passing out while high on drugs (Reno, Nevada)

"Sole parent" and dad RODNEY RYTTING has been arrested after striking his 3-year-old son, leaving him with a blackened eye and other bruises, and then passing out from drugs. The child was obviously left unattended, and was found wandering around an apartment complex.
We're told that Rytting is the "sole parent." Wonder how that happened? Is mom dead? Or is there something else at play here?

http://www.rgj.com/article/20100802/NEWS01/100802031/-1/CARSON/Reno-father-arrested-on-suspicion-of-striking-toddler-for-spilling-drink-on-him

Reno father arrested on suspicion of striking toddler for spilling drink on him
Jaclyn O'Malley • Reno Gazette-Journal • August 2, 2010

A 45-year-old Reno man was arrested after police said he allegedly struck his toddler in the face — blackening his eye — and then allowed the child to wander outside his apartment complex for 45 minutes while he was passed out.

Rodney Rytting was booked Monday morning into the Washoe County Jail on suspicion of child abuse and child neglect.

Officers responded to his apartment complex in the 1800 block of Selmi Drive to investigate why the 3-year-old boy was left alone. They said he had a black eye and bruises.

Police found his father, Rytting, who said he had struck the boy in the face when he was high on drugs, because his son spilled a drink on him, according to a police report. The boy left his apartment after he passed out.

While Rytting was taken to jail, social workers placed his son in emergency foster care. Rytting is the child’s sole parent.