No water or ventilation in 100 degrees: Five kids found in a box on truck, CA cops say

Five kids were found in a crate on top of a pickup truck in Needles, California, with no water, ventilation or air conditioning in 100 degree-weather, authorities say.

Three people from Sacramento were arrested Tuesday at the California-Arizona border and charged with child endangerment after San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputies received a report about “small children riding in the bed of a pickup truck inside a small crate” on Interstate 40, the department told East Bay Times. The kids were all between the ages of 1 and 13 and none were restrained inside the box, KABC reported.

Deputies also found illegal drugs, paraphernalia and a shotgun in the truck, according to FOX 11.

Kenneth Standridge, 40, is charged with child endangerment, illegal firearm possession by a felon and driving under the influence, according to FOX 11. Zona Brasier, 39, and Aushajuan Hardy, 41, face child endangerment charges, the station said.

Deputies booked all three suspects into the Colorado River Station Jail on Tuesday, KABC reported.

San Bernardino County Children and Family Services is caring for the children, whose conditions are unknown, East Bay Times reported.