Illinois Couple Arrested After 4 Kids Found in Enclosed U-Haul Truck on I-55

Roy Hamel II and Sabrina McKinney were charged with six counts each of child endangerment after deputies found four children in the back of a U-Haul box truck.

Four Children Discovered in Back of U-Haul During Illinois Traffic Stop

Law & Crime reports that a routine traffic stop on Interstate 55 near Pontiac, Illinois, ended with the arrest of two adults who had allegedly placed four children and two dogs inside the sealed cargo area of a U-Haul box truck.

Livingston County Sheriff's deputies pulled over the vehicle at 6:07 p.m. on the northbound on-ramp of I-55 — approximately 100 miles southwest of Chicago. The driver, Roy Hamel II, told deputies that the group was relocating from Louisiana to Michigan.

During a search of the truck, deputies found four children and two dogs "traveling inside the enclosed bed of the U-Haul," according to a press release from the Livingston County Sheriff's Office. A body camera image released by the sheriff's office shows the cargo area packed with large gray plastic storage bins, laundry baskets, and filled garbage bags. Several children are visible lying on top of the objects; their faces have been censored in the photograph.

The children were transported to a hospital for evaluation of possible heat-related injuries, the release states.

Hamel and his passenger, Sabrina McKinney, were both taken into custody and transported to the Livingston County Jail, where they were later released. Each faces six counts of endangering the life or health of a child. Hamel was additionally charged with one count of driving with a suspended license.

Authorities have not disclosed the ages of the children or further details about their conditions.

Source: Law & Crime