Featured Image Credit: Utah Highway Patrol
Topics: US News, Police, Crime, Domestic Abuse
Jen Thomas
Eagled-eyed police officers spotted something horribly wrong while attending a multi-vehicle pileup, and ended up saving two young girls.
A truck driver in Utah was arrested and is now facing child abuse charges following the discovery, after a horrifying crash on the Interstate 15 in Lindon.
Highway patrol attended to assist after a tire came loose and went flying over a wall, striking two vehicles and causing injuries.
A semi-truck then went into the back of a nearby car, which then smashed into other cars where the original truck driver's vehicle was stopped.
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One highway patrol trooper said he spotted 'two sets of eyes' looking at him through the slats of the trailer.
The driver, 28-year-old Jacob Ortell Scott apparently 'looked surprised' when the officer mentioned it to him, before he confessed.
KGNS reports that the inspector who noticed the girls 'took a photo of the rear of the truck and there was a slight gap in the door, and he happened to see a set of eyes looking at him as he took that photo,' Lt. Clay Morgan, with the Utah Highway Patrol, explained.
"Then he knew we had more problems than just the accident," he added.
Court documents reveal Scott admitted 'there were kids in the trailer'.
Shocked officers managed to get the trailer open, where they found two young girls trapped inside the refrigerated trailer.
According to KJZZ, Lt. Cameron Roden said that the girls were Scott’s half-sisters.
The girls, aged 12 and 14, were stuck inside with 'no way for them to exit', the affidavit reports.
They were inside the trailer with bedding, while the thermostat read it was set at nearly 30 degrees, which could cause hypothermia.
It emerged that the girls had been locked inside the trailer for around two hours, but authorities confirmed neither girl was injured during the incident.
However, they were well enough to give interviews to representatives from the Utah State Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Child and Family Services.
Lt. Roden confirmed the girls were not being trafficked, but the incident was enough to arrest him on suspicion of third-degree felony aggravated child abuse.
Judge Sean Petersen cited 'substantial evidence' that Scott poses a 'substantial danger' to the public, so is being held without bail.
Officials revealed the girls are homeschooled, and Scott said they needed to come to Salt Lake City to take a test and help a family member who’s having twins.
Lt Roden added: "There were really only two spots for the individuals to be in the tractor, and so the others were in the trailer."
"The 12- and 14-year-old, they were scared," Lt. Morgan continued: "They were scared that they were in trouble. They were scared that their brother was in trouble. They were scared that somebody was hurt, but after a while they calmed down."
Lt. Morgan told Fox 13 Salt Lake City: "I mean, it's kind of common sense that we shouldn't be riding in the back of any type of trailer, but one that's enclosed that you certainly can't get out of, we would just ask, just use common sense, try and find a better way to get people where you're going."