Mom Arrested For Leaving Children On Side Of I-40 In Idaho

Two children were found sitting by the side of Interstate 90 in western Idaho on Tuesday. Officials say that the two young children had been left there by their mother after running out of gas.

According to NBC News, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the boys, aged 3 and 6, said that their mother had walked them to the spot on I-90 where they had been found. The kids also said that they had been taken there when it was still dark and raining.

The mom then accepted a ride to a gas station between 6:30 am and 7:30 am local time (8:30 am and 9:30 am ET), according to the statement. A construction supervisor that had been working nearby found the children at about 9:10 am local time (11:10 am ET).

The woman was later arrested on a negligent driving warrant at a house in Spokane Valley, Washington on Tuesday night. She was arrested after deputies received a tip that she was there, NBC station KHQ reported.

Kootenai and Spokane counties are on either side of the state line.

KHQ said the mother would most likely face more charges in Kootenai.

The sheriff’s office statement said that the woman told the person who gave her the ride that “she had been in an argument with her boyfriend and just needed to get to a phone to call for a ride.”

The children, after being cleared by emergency medical providers, were placed in foster care.

KHQ reported that the woman was seen with her children at a Walmart near the state line on Monday night. Someone decided to call the police saying that she was acting strangely, and she was checked out by medics.