Utah agency sanctions driver’s employer after 3 carbon monoxide deaths

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (KSL) — The state of Utah has sanctioned the employer of a man accused of leaving three disabled men in a running vehicle in a garage, resulting in their deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning on Friday.

Isaiah Vaughn Pulu, 25, who works for a company that provides transportation for disabled adults, picked the three men up from a group home, then took them to his apartment near 2730 S. High Park Way in West Valley City, “when one of the victims would not calm down and was being disruptive,” a police booking affidavit states.

The men who died were identified by police Friday as Colton Moser, 25; Mosa’ati Moa, 22; and Tim Jones, 39. They were all residents at different group homes in West Valley City.

About 10 a.m., after arriving at his home, Pulu told the men to stay in the vehicle, which was still running with the windows down, while he went inside to eat and watch television, according to the affidavit.

Pulu told police that two of men were nonverbal, and the other was “combative and known to fight with individuals,” the affidavit states.

Pulu also told police that when he went inside his apartment, the garage was open, but when he came back about 1:30 p.m. to take them back to their group homes, “he found the garage door was now closed, the vehicle was off and would not start, and all three were unresponsive,” the affidavit says.

The men were declared dead at the scene. Pulu was later arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of manslaughter and aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult.

Action taken

In a statement Saturday, the Utah Department of Health and Human said it is “aware of the incident that resulted in three people losing their lives in West Valley City. At the core of our work is a commitment to the health and safety of people being served. When safety is compromised and lives are lost, we feel it deeply. Our hearts go out to the loved ones and families as they navigate this unimaginable loss.”

While police did not identify Pulu’s employer, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services stated that a notice of emergency agency action had been issued to Safe and Sound Services LLC against its day treatment license after the three men died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The notice prohibits the company from accepting new clients for 30 days while the investigation takes place, and “upon completion of the investigation, further licensing action will be taken if the provider is found out of compliance with state rules and regulations,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.

Katie England, public information officer for the Department of Health and Human Services, told KSL, “The point of it is to kind of push pause; we’re not bringing any new clients in until we have a chance to come in and investigate.”

Safe and Sound must also comply and cooperate with all monitoring inspections and investigations; retrain all staff on safe practices regarding transportation; and retrain all staff on safe practices regarding supervision of clients, according to the emergency notice.

For families using similar caretaking services, state officials recommend looking up prior inspections on the Department of Health and Human Services licensing website. KSL found Safe and Sound Services has had two annual inspections, the last in February of 2025. Inspectors found the company fully compliant, and its license was renewed with a capacity for 62 clients.

Contributing: Sarah Martin