A Texas mother accused of driving while drunk told the police that she was on the way to pick up her five-month-old baby, before they discovered the infant was already in her backseat.
Ivana Dolores Salazar, 27, was arrested on Sunday at 1:28am after allegedly getting behind the wheel of her car while drunk with her infant in the backseat.
Salazar was charged with driving while intoxicated with a passenger under 15 and one count of endangering a child, authorities said.
After failing to indicate while changing lanes, Salazar was pulled over and claimed she was on the way from work to pick up her infant baby.
Police conducting the traffic stop noticed a glass container of ‘unknown red liquid’ in her car and formed ‘reasonable suspicion’ that she was under the influence.
Salazar told the cops that no one else was in the vehicle, but after she was placed in handcuffs, they discovered a five-month-old child in the backseat.
According to the release, the infant was also improperly secured into a car seat.
‘Salazar repeated that she had just left work was en route to pick up her baby,’ El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte wrote.
Ivana Dolores Salazar, 27, was arrested on Sunday at 1.28am after allegedly getting behind the wheel of her car while drunk with her infant in the backseat. Salazar claimed she had left work and was on the way to pick up her baby
Police conducting the traffic stop noticed a glass container of ‘unknown red liquid’ in her car and formed ‘reasonable suspicion’ that she was under the influence
‘Deputies escorted her back to the vehicle and showed her the child in the back seat.
‘At that point, Salazar become uncooperative and claimed she did not know the baby was in the car.’
The baby was taken to hospital for an assessment and its condition remains unclear.
Child Protective Services were also notified, and the infant was released ‘to a responsible party,’ according to authorities.
Salazar was booked into El Paso County Jail with a bond of $23,000.
El Paso Times reported that she was then released on the same day on personal recognizance according to jail records.
