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With the heat index throughout the region approaching or exceeding 100 degrees, troopers were taken on a ride by 25-year-old Confluence resident Samantha Cherry, who was allegedly intoxicated and now will face charges after the children were saved.
According to police, the department's Aviation Command was able to track the abandoned suspect vehicle near the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, and after landing in a nearby field to investigate, they were met by two 3-year-olds inside the sweltering car, which was turned off with the windows closed and doors shut.
The boys were unharmed.
A Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson said that the vehicle was located at around 1:45 p.m. on July 9, on Sickle Ridge Road in Fayette County, though Cherry was nowhere to be found.
The pursuit began after a DUI lookout alert was issued from the Garrett County Sherif's Office on Tuesday.
Investigators say that less than two hours later, troopers in Fayette County responded to a two-vehicle crash on Brown Hill Road in the Markleysburg Borough, and it was determined that Cherry was the driver involved in the Maryland police pursuit.
Cherry was taken into custody by Pennsylvania State Police troopers, who charged her with driving under the influence, endangering the welfare of children, and she was cited for multiple traffic violations in Maryland.
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