Does a video of a rental van being stopped on an Atlanta highway show the rescue of children from human traffickers? No, that's not true: The people in the back of the van were members of two families who were moving household goods, not human trafficking victims, according to Gwinnett County, Georgia, police quoted in several news reports. The driver of the truck was ticketed for allowing passengers to ride without seat belts.
The claim appeared in videos shared on social media, including a video (archived here) posted on X on April 9, 2025, under the title "Man saves children from trafficker". The caption in the video read:
Multiple children were found in the back of a moving truck after a man notices something unusual
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: Screenshot from X)
The narration in the video is by a man who was driving behind the northbound Budget rental van on Interstate 85 in Gwinnett County, Georgia, about 30 miles north of downtown Atlanta. The rear gate on the van is slightly opened and a person's arm could be seen sticking out, causing the man to believe he was seeing human trafficking. The video concludes with several police cars stopping the truck and the man declaring "I'm a hero, man."
Police told Atlanta's WAGA-TV that they found eight people in the back of the van, including two juveniles. They were members of two families who were relocating with their personal possessions from Alabama to Maryland. The families were allowed to continue on their journey after they arranged for alternative transportation. The driver was issued a ticket for the seat belt violation.
The incident happened on June 21, 2024, but the video continues to resurface as new in social media posts.
