A Cookeville couple was arrested Wednesday morning after leaving two children in a car for more that two hours in below freezing temperatures. Sammie Glen Alexander, 27, and Jessica Crisp, 32, both of Paran Road, were both charged with child abuse and neglect or endangerment in connection with the incident.  Baxter police officers say they found the vehicle parked at a gas station near Interstate 40 in Baxter early this morning.

The couple was reportedly passed out in the front seat, and the children were crying in the backseat when officers found them.  “I responded to [the gas station] in reference to a vehicle that had been parked for approximately two hours with the engine off and people inside,” said Baxter Police Officer Joseph Thomas.  When the officer found the vehicle, he said he could hear the children crying inside.

“I and other officers banged on the windows in an attempt to wake the man and woman who were passed out in the front seat,” Thomas said.  After some time, officers managed to get into the vehicle, but it still took them several minutes to get the couple in the front seat to wake up, he said.  “They appeared to be under the influence of some narcotic, and illegal drugs were recovered from them,” he said.

The female children were 4 years and 7 months old respectively.  “The 7-month-old was sucking on an empty bottle, while the 4-year-old was crying and saying she was cold,” Thomas said.  The officer notes that the outside temperature at the time was below 25 degrees.  “The engine on the vehicle was cold,” he said.

Alexander and Crisp were both booked on a bond of $5,000. Their initial appearance in Putnam County General Sessions Court was expected Wednesday.