Woman with 2 kids in car rams police cruisers, leads cops on chase, authorities say

A woman is behind bars after police say she led them on a chase through a residential neighborhood in Pennsylvania with her two kids in the back seat.

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New Castle police said she rammed two of their cruisers to try to get away Friday afternoon, with no regard for her 5-year-old and 1-year-old kids in the car, who were crying and scared after the wild ride.

"No regard for for their safety," said Bobby Salem, chief of the New Castle Police Department. "It's troubling a little bit, the fact that they had kids in the car."

Brandi Cottrell was driving 40 mph through narrow streets in an area where there are a lot of kids, according to police.

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Cottrell ultimately rammed a cruiser head-on, according to police, causing major front-end damage.

Police believe she ran because she has a warrant for her arrest on felony child endangerment charges, but Salem told WPXI that there also was a female passenger who had a gun.

"She demanded that the driver keep driving during the pursuit," Salem said. "She didn’t pull it on her; she showed it. I think she was scared of getting caught with it."

Police are also planning to charge that passenger and are still trying to figure out her story. The kids were not injured and are in the custody of Social Services.

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