Mother charged with driving impaired while her kids were in the car: RCMP

Emergency crews rescued a 29-year-old woman and her two young daughters from this vehicle. (Source: Blue Hills RCMP)

A Brandon woman is facing charges after allegedly driving while impaired while her two small children were in the car, rolling it in the process.

RCMP say it happened Wednesday around 9:45 p.m. when they got a call for a single-vehicle rollover west of Brandon on Richmond Avenue West near Road 66. Reports indicated that two children under five were in the car.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found a severely damaged car on the north side of the road. The windshield had been torn out and the roof caved in. A 29-year-old woman and her two daughters, aged five years and 11 months old, were rescued from the vehicle and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The woman was tested in hospital, and RCMP said she was found to be impaired. She was arrested for impaired operation of a conveyance over .08 and impaired operation causing bodily harm. Her licence has been suspended, and she has been released from custody with a court date.

RCMP say this is part of a larger, disturbing trend in southwestern Manitoba, with 4 such incidents happening over the past few days. Officers were patrolling on Highway 340 in the RM of Cornwallis in the early morning hours of July 3, when a vehicle travelling eastbound activated its high beams while passing the police car. A 57-year-old man from Sprucewoods, Man. was arrested and faces impairment charges.

On July 5, Mounties say two men - aged 43 and 26, both from Brandon - were stopped during check stops in different locations by Blue Hills RCMP. Both men were tested and given warnings. Their vehicles were impounded for three days, and their licences were suspended for 72 hours.

All of the charges have yet to be proven in court. The investigation continues.