A Kalispell mother has pleaded not guilty to a felony after allegedly abandoning her children in a car when she ran on foot from police.

Nicole Guillory, 40, entered her plea to the charge of criminal child endangerment Sept. 12 in Flathead District Court.

A Kalispell police officer responded to a report of a reckless driver and located the vehicle on Greatview Drive. He stopped the vehicle and spoke with the driver, identified as Guillory.

It was at that point the officer noted Guillory had her two children with her, later determined to be 1 and 6 years old.

The officer then reportedly noticed the smell of alcohol coming from Guillory, that she slurred her speech, and that her motor skills were diminished. Court documents allege that when the officer asked Guillory about her driving, she suddenly fled on foot, leaving her children behind.

She was then apprehended and detained.

Court documents further alleges that a second officer made the same observations about Guillory’s state and that she was “extremely intoxicated.” The first officer then handcuffed her and put her in the back of his vehicle, at which point she allegedly slipped the handcuffs in front of her and began banging her head and hands on the cage of the patrol car.

Guillory allegedly refused to provide a breath sample and later admitted that she takes several medications and drank a glass of wine earlier in the evening.

The witness who initially reported Guillory’s driving to police also provided a written statement stating that she had watched Guillory’s vehicle leave the road and go into a ditch and that Guillory twice drove onto a curb.

The witness “called in part due to her concern that there appeared to be an unsecured child in the passenger seat,” according to court documents.

If convicted, Guillory faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. She is currently incarcerated in the Flathead County Detention Center, where her bond was initially set at $15,000 before being reduced to $5,000.

Her next hearing is set for Dec. 4.