LORAIN — A Lorain woman was arrested on a variety of charges yesterday after police say she apparently drove drunk with three small children in her car.

According to a police report, Mary Torres, 24, was charged with drunken driving, three counts of endangering children, three counts of child restraints required, a stop-sign violation, left of center and driving under suspension.

Officers observed Torres, driving a red 2000 Ford Taurus, miss a stop sign at West 22nd Street and Beech Avenue at 1:28 yesterday morning, according to a police report. Officers followed her and saw her driving into incoming traffic on West 24th Street.

After officers stopped her at 24th and Oberlin, Torres initially attempted to drive off, the report said. Officers immediately noticed three small children, one in the front seat and two in the back seats, without child restraints or seat belts.

When asked for ID, the driver mumbled an incoherent response, the report said. The driver seemed to be disoriented, and officers noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from the car.

Torres nearly fell to the ground several times after exiting the car and admitted to officers “Yes, I had four shots of E&J about a half hour ago,” the report said.

Officers attempted sobriety tests, but determined, due to her level of intoxication, the tests posed to much of a risk to Torres.

Officers ID’d the children in the car as Torres’ 6-year-old niece and 6- and 3-year-old sons. Torres’ mother, Angela Morris, came to the scene and took the children.

Officers took Torres to the Lorain police station, where she blew .254 on a blood-alcohol test, more than three times the legal limit of .08.

According to the report, Torres has one prior drunken driving conviction, which is why her license was suspended.

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