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Lake Elsinore Mom Arrested After Towing Infant, Tots In Pickup Truck

RIVERSIDE (CBS) — A Lake Elsinore woman accused of towing her children unsecured in the the back of a pickup truck that rolled over was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment, a sheriff's sergeant said Monday.

Maura Garcia, 37, and her three children between the ages of one and five were sitting in a Mazda truck that was being towed by a Ford truck on Sunday afternoon.

When the driver of the Ford turned right from Highway 74 onto Gunnerson Street in Lake Elsinore, the in-tow Mazda couldn't navigate the corner and rolled over, Sgt. David Sanches said.

The two youngest children suffered minor injuries and were taken to a hospital to be checked out, while the 5-year-old was released to the father at the scene, Sanches said.

No one in the Mazda was wearing a seatbelt or strapped in a car seat, the sergeant said.

Garcia was found with her injured children by deputies at a nearby residence, where she was arrested, Sanches said.

"Initially, Garcia hid her children from officers and EMT personnel to avoid being charged with a crime," he said.

No bail has been set for Garcia, who is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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