Kent PD: Driver arrested for DUI with 22-month-old inside the car

KENT — The Kent Police Department announced Wednesday afternoon that a 34-year-old woman was arrested and booked for driving under the influence after she allegedly lost consciousness at the wheel with her baby inside and blocked traffic.

According to a post on Facebook from Kent police, the incident happened just before 11:15 a.m. Monday when a patrol officer and detective responded to the 23500 block of 88 Avenue South for a welfare check. Witnesses called 911 about a woman who was blocking traffic while passed out inside her car. The woman allegedly blocked traffic for about 15 minutes.

Just before law enforcement responded, first responders with the Puget Sound Fire Department responded and arrived at the scene. A firefighter told law enforcement that when they walked up to the woman’s car, the engine was running and the woman was passed out behind the wheel. They also saw a 22-month-old baby, who had started crying, in the back seat. They tried to console the baby who was not injured as a result of the incident.

The woman was not injured, police said.

When first responders interviewed her at the scene, she was “slurring her words, smelled heavily of intoxicants, and could not provide simple information such as her address or her child’s name and age,” police said. Officers said they saw an open bottle of alcohol in the front seat of the car.

The woman was arrested and booked for driving under the influence, driving while her license was suspended, reckless endangerment, domestic violence for endangering her baby, and operating a vehicle without an ignition interlock device, generally required after a DUI-related arrest, police said.

A family member took the baby into custody after the incident.

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