DUI Driver Passed Out With Child In Car: Reading Police

READING, MA — A woman is facing allegations that she was asleep at the wheel while a child was in the back seat of her car, according to police.

Police responded Feb. 15 at 1:59 a.m. on a report of a blue Mazda stopped on the wrong side of Main Street in Reading.

Police approached the car and found that the driver appeared to be passed out and a child was in the back seat. The car was still running.

Officers attempted to wake the driver, who then woke up and drove away toward Jacobs Way and Augustus Court.

The car drove over a curb, pulled back onto the road, and came to a stop, according to police.

Noelle Tarrant, 41, of Jamaica Plain, was driving with an expired license, police said. Officers also detected a strong odor of alcohol on her breath, according to police.

She was arrested and charged with marked lanes violation, operating under the influence of alcohol, child endangerment by operating under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, failure to stop for police, and unlicensed operation.

The child was unharmed and released into the care of a family member.

Tarrant was arraigned in Woburn District Court on Feb. 18.