A Lake Charles woman accused of killing her 4-year-old son and leaving her toddler on the side of Interstate 10 has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and cruelty to a juvenile.

Aaliyah Jack — who is being represented by public defender King Alexander — entered her plea virtually this week from the Calcasieu Correctional Center, where she is being held on a $9.1 million bond.

The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office Marine Division recovered the body of 4-year-old Legend on July 8 behind the waters of the Louisiana Welcome Center in Vinton. His brother, 1-year-old Kingtrail, was discovered a day later by a truck driver who saw the toddler crawling through an embankment along I-10.

Reginald Walton, a driver for DHL Supply Chain, said he was en route from Texas to Crowley for a delivery when he spotted the boy.

“At first I thought maybe it was a doll or a toy or something like that that someone had thrown out the window,” Walton said. “As I passed by, I noticed that it moved and that’s when I dialed 911 and told them I may have seen a child on the side of the road.”

Walton said he was cruising at about 65 mph when he saw the child and it took him about a quarter of a mile to get his 18-wheeler to come to a complete stop. “Then I got out and 911 stayed on the phone with me until I did notice that it was a baby, then they transferred me to the Sheriff’s Office,” Walton said.

“As I approached, he smiled at me, then he stood up and he started crying and then he walked toward me,” he said. “I grabbed his hand and he stopped crying. I think he was just excited to see someone when I got there.”

As Walton and the boy waited for officers to arrive, he said he tried to be a calming presence for Kingtrail. “I just told him, ‘It’s gonna be all right, little man,’ ” Walton said.

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Stitch Guillory told the American Press the boy had been outside for about two days, crawling his way through an interstate embankment while the remnants of Hurricane Beryl — including high-force wind and heavy rainfall — swirled around him.

“This kid spent two days out in the weather on the side of the highway,” Guillory said. “Thank God that trucker seen him. We are so thankful for this trucker.”

Besides being covered in insect bites, Kingtrail was in good condition and had stayed hydrated for the two days he was alone by drinking from the water he was crawling through.

Jack was arrested in Meridian, Miss., the same day Kingtrail was discovered. Officers discovered her waiting to board a train.