SEABROOK - When police Officer Scott Mendes arrived at the corner of Route 107 and Bachelder Road on a recent night, he found a bizarre scene - a Good Samaritan was caring for a 6-month-old baby strapped to a car seat that was sitting on the ground, while the child's mother stumbled along the road, incoherent and apparently high on drugs, police said.

The mother, Corryn S. Szczuka, 22, later told police she had taken a large dose of heroin and the anti-anxiety drug Klonopin, smoked marijuana and consumed two beers that day, police said.

Now Szczuka, of 91 New Boston Road, Kingston, N.H., is in jail and facing charges of endangering her son.

According to Mendes' report, on May 3 police got a call that a woman had been seen stumbling along the road with a baby in her arms. When he arrived, he found the baby being tended and fed by a woman. The woman, whose name police didn't have, said she'd gone to the baby's aid after noticing Szczuka "stumbling around."

In his report, Mendes said, "(Szczuka) was in no condition to care for this baby. (She) appeared to be under the influence of drugs."

Complaining repeatedly that "it is hard to be a single parent," Szczuka told Mendes the reason she "was out of it" was because she had taken Klonopin, which causes drowsiness and impaired balance. She also said her mother was on her way to pick them up.

Mendes took Szczuka into custody with the baby. In the cruiser, Szczuka passed out, Mendes wrote, and in spite of the baby's crying, never woke up. Upon arrival at the Seabrook Police Station, Szczuka continued to have trouble maintaining her balance and staying awake, according to the report.

At the station, Seabrook Officer Kevin Gelineau found "one fresh track mark" on Szczuka's right arm, Mendes wrote. Szczuka told Mendes she did use heroin and had just been "released from rehab."

Until Szczuka's mother arrived at 9:20 p.m. to take the child to her house, Sgt. Jason Allen cared for the child, feeding him when Szczuka didn't respond to his crying because she had again passed out, police said.

Mendes took Szczuka to Exeter Hospital for treatment after a search of her purse revealed two Mirapex pills, which treat restless legs syndrome. At Exeter, Szczuka was revived. It was then she told Mendes the amount and number of drugs she consumed that day.

After she was released from the hospital, she was held at Seabrook Police Station until her court arraignment the next day.

Szczuka was arraigned May 4 before Hampton District Court Judge Francis Frasier and ordered held on $2,500 cash and $2,500 personal recognizance bail until her court date. As of yesterday, Szczuka had not been released on bail.

Mendes' report was to be sent to the state authorities at the Department of Child, Youth and Families.