KITTERY – A New Hampshire woman accused of trying to drown her young children in the Piscataqua River has pleaded guilty to two counts of child endangerment as part of a plea agreement.

Traci Brennan, 38, of Wolfeboro originally was charged with two counts of attempted murder for allegedly driving her son and daughter to the Route 1 bridge in Kittery and attempting to drown them.

Brennan pleaded guilty to the lesser charges in York County Superior Court on Dec. 18 and faces a maximum of nine months in prison under an agreement with prosecutors. Her attorney can still argue for a lighter sentence.

York County District Attorney Michael Cantara said a plea agreement was worked out to spare the children the ordeal of testifying.

“It boils down to the difficulty of calling upon a 9-year-old and a 5-year-old to testify against a mother,” he said.

As part of the agreement, Brennan will have no contact with the children. She also has agreed to undergo a substance abuse and psychological evaluation and attend counseling sessions if necessary, Cantara said.

Brennan’s attorney, Thomas Van Houten, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The incident occurred Sept. 12, 2001, but police have not said how far Brennan went before letting the children go. They said the episode was unrelated to the terrorist attacks a day earlier.

While driving home from Kittery that day, Brennan hit a truck and several mailboxes with her car and was charged with drunken driving, leaving the scene of an accident and child endangerment, police said.

Maine State Police began investigating when one of the children told New Hampshire authorities in the spring.