Mother Stopped for Allegedly Blowing Past Marion Stop Sign Drunk with Child in Car

Ronita Zachary, a 33-year-old Cedar Rapids resident, was stopped for allegedly running a stop sign in the early morning of March 17, and police say she was intoxicated.

She also had a child in the car.

According to the 's Lt. Doug Slagle, it is not all that uncommon for a parent to drive drunk with their kids in the car.

What is new is adding a child endangerment charge to parents who chose to drive while drunk and/or intoxicated.

Zachary was stopped at around 4 a.m at the intersection of Marion Boulevard and Twixit Town Road. She was charged with driving while intoxicated/drugged, first offense, child endangerment, not having insurance-not accident related, driving with a suspended license and failure to obey a stop sign. 

Her charge of child endangerment is an aggravated misdemeanor.

The above information was provided by the Marion Police Department. Arrests do not indicate a conviction.