Couple Put Kids In Car's Trunk, Dogs In Backseat For 900 Miles

A couple admitted in a Wyoming court on Thursday morning to driving more than 1400kms (900 miles) from Arizona to Wyoming with two children in the trunk, while dogs sat in the car’s back seat.

Michael J. Fee, 63, and 31-year-old Amber L. Freudenstein, both residents of Arizona, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of child endangerment and were sentenced to 30 days in jail by the Natrona County Circuit Court.

Fee said there was no room for both the children, aged 10 and six, and the two German shepherds in the back seat of the car and hence he told the children to get into the trunk.

“I tried to make things as safe as I could for them. It wasn’t anything malicious,” he said, The Casper Star-Tribune reported.

Court documents state police spoke to Freudenstein too said they placed the children in the trunk so the dogs could ride in the back seat. While one of the children remained in the trunk throughout the journey, the other got out and rode on the front seat for a while neat Utah.

Natrona County sheriff’s deputy said they were informed about children riding in the trunk by a third party.

In a similar incident in 2016, a mother pleaded guilty of allowing her two children to ride in a car trunk. Hanover Borough, Pennsylvania, police stopped a 2002 Chevrolet Corvette car after getting reports of children riding in the trunk. They found two children, aged 3 and 5, inside the trunk. The mother, Jessica Reger, who was seated in the front informed police that she allowed the children to get into the back of the car. She was arrested.

"Corvettes don't have trunks. Corvettes have wells in the back. The trunk issue has always been a sticking point for us,” said Korey Leslie, a lawyer who represented Reger, USA Today reported.

She pleaded guilty to “endangering the welfare of children” and was sentenced to 6 to 23 months in jail. She was also ordered to take parenting classes.

The driver, Ilena Blackburn also pleaded guilty to “recklessly endangering another person.” She was asked to complete 50 hours of community service and was fined $75.

York County's senior deputy prosecutor, Sarah Buhite, said she wasn’t sure if the back side of the car should be described as a well or a trunk. She added that there were no seats in the back and the children were not wearing seatbelts.

“I don’t think it makes a difference. There are laws, and they’re supposed to be followed,” she said.