Mother allegedly drove high with baby in vehicle

A Whitefish woman who allegedly drove while under the influence of drugs with her infant child in the vehicle has been jailed.

Caitlin Rose Mattern, 25, faces a charge of criminal child endangerment after the incident earlier this summer.

Mattern was booked into the Flathead County Detention Center on Sept. 1. Her bond was set at $10,000.

According to charging documents, a Flathead County sheriff's deputy saw a vehicle with its motor running at a convenience store around 2:10 a.m. on June 10.

Mattern was slumped over the center console and her 4-month-old child was in the vehicle, the deputy reported.

When the deputy knocked on the window, Mattern awoke and the deputy reported she was sluggish and her eyes were red. Mattern allegedly told the deputy she had smoked marijuana before driving.

The deputy conducted field sobriety tests and determined Mattern was impaired. Blood work later identified amphetamine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, in her system.

Mattern's arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 9.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.