Two children found sitting by the side of Interstate 90 in western Idaho Tuesday told sheriff’s deputies that their mother had left them there after running out of gas, officials said.

Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the boys, aged three and six, said their mother had walked them to the spot on I- 90 where they were found. The kids said they had been taken there when it was still dark and raining.

She then took a ride to a gas station between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. local time (8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. ET), the statement said. A construction supervisor working nearby found the children at about 9:10 a.m. local time (11:10 a.m. ET). 

'Argument with her boyfriend'
The woman was arrested on a negligent driving warrant at a house in Spokane Valley, Wash., on Tuesday night after deputies received a tip-off that she was there, NBC station KHQ reported. Kootenai and Spokane counties are on either side of the state line.

KHQ said the mother would most likely face more charges in Kootenai.

The sheriff’s office statement said the woman told the person who gave her the ride that “she had been in an argument with her boyfriend and just needed to get to a phone to call for a ride.”

The children – after being cleared by emergency medical providers – were placed in foster care.

KHQ reported that the woman was seen with her children at a Walmart near the state line Monday night. Someone called police saying she was acting strangely and she was checked out by medics.

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