• Driver leaves disabled passengers in running car for hours
• Three die from carbon monoxide poisoning

Authorities in Utah have charged a 25-year-old man with involuntary manslaughter after leaving three disabled men inside a running vehicle for at least an hour, resulting in their deaths from carbon monoxide exposure.

West Valley City police, about 16 kilometers from Salt Lake City, identified the suspect as Isaiah Pulu, facing three counts of manslaughter and three counts of aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult following the victims’ deaths on Friday, February 6.

Pulu was working as a driver for a company providing transportation for disabled adults at the time.

The victims were later identified as Colton Moser (25), Mosati Moa (22), and Tim Jones (39), all residents of different care facilities. Their exact transport destination was not immediately clear.

Police said, “Around lunchtime, the driver stopped at his home and went inside, leaving the three men in the running vehicle. When he returned an hour to two hours later, he found all three deceased.”

Officers responded around 2 p.m. local time after receiving a report of three unresponsive individuals. Court documents, cited by local media, said Pulu had eaten lunch and watched television while the men remained in the vehicle for over three hours.

Pulu told authorities that the garage door was open when he left, but closed when he returned, and the vehicle would not start.

Reports noted that two of the men were non-verbal, and one was agitated and could not be calmed, according to Pulu’s statements to police.

Following the incident, Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services issued an emergency action notice to the company, temporarily barring it from accepting new clients under its day treatment license for 30 days during a full investigation.

The agency said: “Our work centers on the health and safety of the people we serve. When safety is compromised and lives are lost, we feel it deeply. Our hearts go out to the families facing this devastating loss.”