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Teen found in box atop van; driver arrested

By Barbara Czura - email
Posted by Dana Franks - email

ALBERTVILLE, AL (WAFF) - A woman was arrested after police discovered a teenager inside a cardboard box on the roof of a vehicle.

Jackie Denise Knott charged told police she had a good reason. Albertville police said the mother told them she was trying to carry a cardboard box, but it wouldn't fit in her minivan. She claimed her daughter was just making sure the box was secure on the van roof.

Drivers in Albertville couldn't believe what they saw Wednesday morning. A minivan was driving down U.S. Highway 431 with a large cardboard box on the roof. But it wasn't the box that raised concern - it was the 13-year-old sitting inside of it.

Many drivers called police and officers quickly pulled Knott over. Albertville police arrested her and charged her with endangering the welfare of a child. Officers said her reasoning behind her actions was astonishing.

"The box was too large to get in the van, so more or less, she needed a paperweight," said Albertville Police Officer Jamie Smith.

Officers asked Knott about the safety of the child and she responded.

"She told the officers she had the box tied to the roof with a wire clothes hanger," Smith said

The child was not hurt. She was turned over to a relative's custody at the scene and DHR is investigating.

"For the child's sake, more than anything, nothing turned out bad," Smith said. "Obviously a gust of wind, an 18-wheeler passing by could have thrown the box off the top of the van. It could have turned out very bad."

Knott was transferred to the Albertville jail where she posted a $500. WAFF 48 News tried contacting her, but were unsuccessful.

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