A man from Utah has been charged with manslaughter after he was accused of leaving three men with disabilities in a running vehicle, where they died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Police in West Valley City, Utah, confirmed the deaths of the three men in an X post on Friday, February 6. The police officers also revealed that Isaiah Pulu had been booked on three counts of manslaughter and three counts of aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult on Friday, February 6, in connection to the deaths of the three men.
The victims have since been identified as Colton Moser, 25, Mosa’ati Moa, 22, and Tim Jones, 39.
Pulu, 25, was working as a driver for a business that provides transportation for disabled adults when the incident took place, according to police.
The three victims were all residents of different assisted living facilities at the time of the incident. It is not currently clear where they were being transported when they died.
“Around lunchtime, the driver had stopped at his own home and went inside, leaving the three men inside the running vehicle,” police said in the statement. “The driver reports returning to the vehicle 1-2 hours later, finding all three men deceased.”
Officers received a report of three people who were found not conscious or breathing in the vehicle, and officials arrived at the scene around 2 p.m.
Authorities launched an investigation and it was found that Pulu allegedly “ate lunch and watched television” as the men sat in the van for more than three hours, according to court documents obtained by ABC4 and FOX 13.
Pulu claimed that the garage door was open when he left the vehicle. He added that the garage door was closed when he returned and that he found that the vehicle shut off and was unable to start.
The driver also claimed to officers that one of the men “would not calm down and was being disruptive,” according to KSL News Radio. Meanwhile, ABC4 reported that two of the victims were non-verbal.
After Pulu spoke to investigators, he was arrested soon after and was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.
Pulu is currently being held without bail. It is not immediately clear if he has entered a plea or retained legal representation.
The West Valley City Police Department did not immediately respond to Luxury Handbag Shopping’s request for comment.
Following the incident, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services said that their Division of Licensing and Background Checks (DLBC) issued a Notice of Emergency Agency Action (NEAA) to Safe and Sounds Services, LLC.
“This NEAA prohibits Safe and Sound from serving any new people under its day treatment license for 30 days while DLBC conducts a full investigation,” the agency said in a statement to FOX 13. “At the core of our work is a commitment to the health and safety of people being served. When safety is compromised and lives are lost, we feel it deeply. Our hearts go out to the loved ones and families as they navigate this unimaginable loss.”
