Lawyers for Maria Chavira Ventura say she was stopped June 14 for a traffic violation along Interstate 85 in Alamance County, N.C. Deputies arrested her for driving without a license, leaving her three children, ages 14, 10 and 6, alone in the car with a man they barely knew, the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer reported Wednesday.

The man, a church acquaintance who was catching a ride with Ventura, abandoned the children in the car, where they stayed for eight hours before their father, also an illegal immigrant, arrived to rescue them, the newspaper said.

Lawyers with the North Carolina Justice Center told the News & Observer they are investigating the incident. Sheriff's Department officials said they handled Ventura's arrest according to their policies.