PORTAGE, IN. (THECOUNT) — Alyssa Hecker of Portage, Indiana, has been identified as the mother arrested after found passed out in traffic with two young children in her vehicle, according to police.
Hecker, 22, faces felony drug and other charges after she was found slumped over the wheel of her Chrysler minivan at 2:50 a.m. Friday with the turn signal activated.
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The incident occured Friday at the intersection of County Line Road & Boulder Avenue in Portage, IN, police said.
When medics knocked on the vehicle window, Hecker accelerated the vehicle forward about 10 feet before stopping again, police said. When she stepped out of her vehicle, police noticed two children inside – one nearly 2 years old and the other 11 weeks old, reports nwitimes.
One child was “very upset and crying throughout the encounter,” police said.
Police said they also noticed the smell of burned marijuana inside the vehicle.
Hecker told police she was tired and must have fallen asleep. She also said she is taking prescription Suboxone following a history of prescription and opioid abuse.
Police said they found marijuana and drugs without a prescription inside the vehicle.
The children were released to another family member and Hecker was taken for an evaluation at the hospital where she was unable to keep herself sitting upright, police said.
She was then taken to jail and faces felony counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a child present, possession of a controlled substance with a child present and two counts of neglect of a dependent by placing a dependent in a situation that endangers their life or health, police said. She also faces misdemeanor counts of intoxicated driving and possession of marijuana with a prior conviction.
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Geo quick facts: Portage is a city in Portage Township, Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 36,828 as of the 2010 census. It is the largest city in Porter County, and third largest in Northwest Indiana – Wikipedia.