911 ‘kidnapping’ call on Parkway: Troopers find kids, adults in back of U-Haul truck

A 911 call from a man claiming to have been kidnapped led state troopers to pull over a U-Haul truck and find two adults and two children riding unsecured in the box compartment, officials said.

Police on Sunday arrested John Williams, 46, of Kingston, New York, on charges of endangering the welfare of his children and false imprisonment of one of his passengers, although officials said it was not an abduction.

Troopers stopped the truck at 12:15 p.m. in the northbound lanes of the Garden State Parkway near the Toms River toll plaza. They found Williams with a woman sitting in the front and two men, a 6-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl riding in the back with several mattresses on the floor.

State troopers learned that the man who had called 911 had tried to get out of the box portion of the truck because he was not happy where he was sitting. An affidavit filed in the case says that Williams refused to open the back of the truck for the man.

Police also reported that the children "appeared in disarray and neglected" and the 911 caller had a minor head injury. State child protective services took temporary custody of the children, State Police said.

Investigators said Williams had rented the truck in in New York on Feb. 26 and drove to Atlantic City with passengers in the box portion.

New Jersey 101.5 did not know Monday whether Williams had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ