LONGVIEW, Texas — **EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from Nov. 2017.
A Gladewater woman is behind bars after Longview police say she was racing with an unrestrained toddler in the back seat of her vehicle.
According to the Longview Police Department, around 12:45 a.m. on Saturday morning, an officer was patrolling in the area of West Loop 281 and Gilmer Rd. when they spotted two vehicles racing at a high rate of speed.
The officer was able to pull over one of the vehicles and identified the driver as Demitrice Thompson, 25, of Gladewater.
"During the investigation, the discovered driver’s 3-year-old child was in the back seat without a seat belt or a child safety seat," the LPD said in a statement.
Thompson was booked into the Gregg County Jail for racing on the roadway and child endangerment.
"This type of behavior not only places the drivers of these vehicles but also the motoring public and the community at risk of injury or even death," the LPD said.
According to police, two people died as a result of racing in Longview in 2017.