Police - Four children found inside car trunk

KEIZER, Ore. -- Two adults were charged with reckless endangerment after four children, ages 7 to 14, were left inside the trunk of an overcrowded car for 30 minutes, police said.

Passengers said they ran out of room in the Ford Taurus sedan, which carried 12 people, Sgt. Jeff Kuhns said. The group was going to a barbecue Sunday.

"That car was just packed," he said.

The driver, Crisanto Beltran-Nieto, 20, and Soco Beltran, 24, mother of one of the children, were cited and released Sunday.

. An arraignment was set for next month.

A motorist notified police after seeing what looked like a child in the trunk at a supermarket.

When police stopped the car, the adults were unable to open the trunk because the lock was damaged, DeVaney said. Police called Keizer Fire Department.

The four children, ages 7 to 14, were sweating profusely and panting but recovered soon after they were let out.

The misdemeanor reckless endangerment charges carry a maximum term of a year in jail.