Mill Valley Drivers Swerve Around Woman Carrying Baby On Highway

Mill Valley CA

06 December, 2020

5:30 PM

Description

MILL VALLEY, CA — An arrest was made Saturday afteroon after several "horrified" drivers made calls to the California Highway Patrol about a woman walking through traffic with her baby on a busy stretch of Highway 101 in Mill Valley. Drivers told dispatchers that vehicles were swerving to avoid hitting the woman, who was walking through traffic lanes with an infant in her arms. The unsettling scene unfolded around 1:30 p.m. on the northbound lane of Highway 101 near the SR-131 East Blithedale exit in Mill Valley, Marin County CHP reported Sunday. "One concerned citizen slowed down to try to see if they could help when the woman attempted to force her way into the passenger side of the vehicle," CHP Marin wrote in a Sunday statement on Facebook. Once officers found the woman and her baby, they were able to transport the pair to a safe location. The mother was arrested after it became "clear that she was in an altered state, likely due to being under the influence of a drug," CHP said. The woman's car had reportedly broken down on the SR-131 on-ramp to northbound 101. "...she decided it would be best to abandon the car, take her baby, and walk on the freeway to get help," officers said. "After a thorough DUI investigation, officers arrested the mother for driving under the influence of a drug." As the mother was arrested, CHP officers were tasked with looking after the baby for the afternoon. "As the mother was being taken to jail, our officers took over caring for her sweet little girl until Child Protective Services could come to our office to pick her up," CHP Marin wrote on Facebook. While in the care of CHP officers, MarinHealth was able to quickly set officers up with baby supplies and formula, according to the statement from CHP. "Officer Sassen quickly switched to off-duty mom mode and made sure the little girl was warm and cozy while Officer Ochoa spent his lunch time feeding himself and the little girl," CHP officials wrote. The mother was booked into the Marin County Jail on suspicion of DUI and child endagerment, officers said. "It goes without saying that this could have ended so tragically," officials wrote Sunday. "With such a large area to cover, it can sometimes take us a couple of minutes to get to a call, which in this situation seems like an eternity."