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Sgt. Jeff Kuhns Discusses Children Packed in Car Trunk

Aired July 23, 2002 - 12:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In Oregon, a close call for a family headed to a barbecue. Four children nearly suffocated while riding inside the trunk of a car. The driver says he put them in the trunk, because the rest of the car was full.

Affiliate station KOIN reporter David Okarski reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID OKARSKI, CNN AFFILIATE KOIN REPORTER (voice-over): The family left Salem on a warm, Sunday morning in an old Ford Taurus. Twenty minutes later, they stopped at the Keizer Albertsons.

Someone there saw them open the trunk, apparently to give the kids in the trunk a breather. Then, the Taurus drove to the 7-Eleven across the street.

JENNIE LOCKLING, 7-ELEVEN CLERK: They were in here like there was nothing, I mean, like they weren't a hurry or anything. And they came in, and they were looking around. They bought like a bag of chips and some drinks and, you know, a couple of lottery tickets and just kind of, well, OK, have a nice day. And then, they walked out the door like there was nothing big.

OKARSKI: By this time, the person at Albertsons had called 911.

LOCKLING: And I looked up, and I noticed that there were police officers going all down the streets and stuff, frantically looking for something.

OKARSKI: Keizer police had the plate number. When they pulled the family over a short way down the road, they found 12 people inside.

SGT. JEFF KUHNS, KEIZER, OREGON POLICE: They immediately just inquired of the driver whether or not he had passengers riding in the trunk. He was forthright, came right through, and said, "Yes, I do." And the officer said, "Can we get them out to check on their welfare?"

OKARSKI: But the trunk wouldn't open, not even with a screwdriver. They finally pulled put the back seat and found three girls and a boy, ages 7 through 14.

KUHNS: Basically laying on top of one another in fetal positions, all very sweaty, labored breathing.

OKARSKI: Police arrested the driver, 20-year-old Cristanta Beltran-Nieto, and his 24-year-old sister, Soco, on a reckless endangerment charge. Cristanta's neighbor says he has never seen him put anyone in the trunk before, but he has seen the passenger compartment crammed full.

BOUG HIBBERT, NEIGHBOR: Kids on the ceiling, it's just like a sardine can, it's just packed.

OKARSKI: He says Cristanta is a good neighbor, but obviously needs a lesson in car safety.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: That was KOIN reporter David Okarski.

Now, joining us with more on the kids packed in that car trunk, Sergeant Jeff Kuhns of the Keizer, Oregon Police Department. You saw him in that piece.

Sergeant, thanks for joining us.

KUHNS: Good afternoon -- thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: You bet. Now, the first question: Where were the parents?

KUHNS: Actually Soco Beltran was the parent of the 7-year-old boy that was in the trunk. At this time, investigators are still trying to determine where the parents were at at the time this incident occurred.

PHILLIPS: And now, were these -- so it's a combination of obviously there was one child to a parent there, and the rest were just friends? Who were the 12 people, this whole bunch?

KUHNS: Actually all 12 occupants of the vehicle were all family members.

PHILLIPS: Is this just the most bizarre thing that you guys have ever come across? I mean, it definitely struck us as very strange.

KUHNS: It is very strange. In my 13 years with the Keizer Police Department, I have never seen anything like this. Obviously, when the news release went out, a lot of questions from the media. This is just really unheard of.

PHILLIPS: And did anyone give you any type of excuse about why those kids were in the trunk?

KUHNS: Well, the mother basically said she didn't know why she allowed it, other than they only had one vehicle, and that is how they wanted to get to the barbecue. And the driver of the vehicle basically told us it was a stupid idea, it was a bad idea. And that after he had been stopped and we intervened, he realized he had made a mistake.

PHILLIPS: How long had they been driving?

KUHNS: Before they got to the city of Keizer, they had about a 20-minute drive from Salem, Oregon to Keizer, and they were in Keizer for about another 10 minutes before our officers stopped them and inquired as to the occupants in the truck. So about 30 minutes of total time.

PHILLIPS: Wow! Now, those kids in the trunk, let's say it went longer than 30 minutes, could they have survived longer than 30 minutes? Give us a scenario here of how long that it would have been fatal?

KUHNS: I am not a doctor, but I have read some quotes in the local papers around here from doctors, and they basically said that it could have been fatal rather quickly, especially with the temperature that was increasing quickly that day. Obviously, the officers, when they pulled the kids out of the car, they saw that they were sweating profusely, they had very labored breathing, and to me, that is one of the first signs of heat exhaustion.

PHILLIPS: Well, how are those kids now? And are they going back to that same parent or parents?

KUHNS: Right now, all of the kids are fine. They were released back to the family. However, our agency has forwarded all of our reports, not only to the district attorney's office, but to the Department of Human Services. And they will go out and they will do a full family visit and make sure something like this does not occur again.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, how are these two adults going to be held accountable for what they allowed to happen?

KUHNS: Well, that will be left up to our court system. They have both been cited to appear in court in August, and we'll see what happens from there. They will have their day in court. They are entitled to all of the rights that every citizen has, and we'll see what happens.

PHILLIPS: Could this mother lose her child?

KUHNS: That is yet to be seen. I do not know the history of the family, like the Department of Human Services might have or might know about. So anything is possible at this point.

PHILLIPS: Quite a lesson here. What should we tell young parents when they are thinking about possibly sneaking into that drive in? Remember those days way back when, putting yourself in the trunk?

KUHNS: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Nowadays, manufacturers are actually getting a little smarter. They have safety releases in some of the vehicles now. But kids right now, you don't even want to be playing hide-and-seek or anything in trunks; that you can suffocate rather quickly back there. They are mostly airtight. PHILLIPS: All right, Sergeant Jeff Kuhns from the Keizer Police Department -- thanks, Sergeant. A bit of a bizarre story, but we appreciate your good words of advice.

KUHNS: Thank you very much for having me.

PHILLIPS: All right.

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