A Ceres mother was arrested for drunken driving Thursday evening after her car containing her three children ended up in the Ceres Main Canal in three feet of water.

Paramedics were the first to arrive on the scene after a 7:43 p.m. call reporting the crash into the canal in the 3800 block of Moore Road. The driver, Desiree Ingram, 32, of Ceres, and three children - ages 6, 9 and 13 - were out of the white 2005 Chrysler Sebring by the time police arrived. Ingram was being treated for minor injuries but appeared to be intoxicated. Police gave Ingram a breathalyzer test which showed a Blood Alcohol Content of 0.17 percent. She was booked for DUI and child endangerment as the children were placed in the care of a family friend.

According to Ceres Police Department spokesman Sgt. Keith Griebel, Ingram had taken the children and another passenger to the Taco Bell to eat. He said apparently that Ingram and the other passenger got into an argument, causing the passenger to leave on foot. He said after eating, Ingram loaded up the kids into the car and began to drive around looking for the person on foot. She entered the parking lot of St. Jude's Catholic Church on Mitchell Road to search. She believed she was still in the parking lot when she steered into the dirt lot between the church and canal when the car went up the embankment and into it.