Mother, Infant Die From Carbon Monoxide Poisoning After Snow Covered Car Tailpipe, Another Child In ‘Critical Condition’

A New Jersey mother and infant are dead from carbon monoxide poisoning after snow blocked their car’s tailpipe sending the deadly gas spewing back into the vehicle as they waited for the woman’s husband to clear a parking space for them. The mother and her two children, a 3-year-old little girl and 1-year-old infant boy, waited inside of their vehicle while the husband exited the vehicle to clear a path for the car to park as two feet of snow covered the ground. However, as the mother and children waited inside of the warm car, snow covered the vehicle’s tailpipe, which caused deadly carbon monoxide to enter the car.

The Daily Mail reports that a New Jersey family lost a mother and infant boy as the result of the snowy conditions in the state. The 23-year-old mother and her 1-year-old infant son were pronounced dead from carbon monoxide poisoning while a second child, a 3-year-old little girl, was taken to the hospital and is said to be in “critical” condition. The family of four was driving home in the New Jersey snow and had difficulty finding a place to park when they returned home.

Mother and son die of carbon monoxide poisoning after snow blocks car tailpipe https://t.co/Uk8CdpqiQD

— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) January 24, 2016

Therefore, the father of the family got out of the vehicle to shovel away snow to make a place for the vehicle to park. However, as the father shoveled the snow, he looked over at the vehicle and noticed that his wife and children appeared to be unresponsive. He went back to the vehicle and discovered that both of his children and wife were unconscious. According to ABC7, the father was only out of the vehicle for 11 minutes, but it was long enough for the carbon monoxide to critically injury his daughter and kill his wife and infant son.

As the family approached their home in New Jersey, the snow was approximately two feet tall. Therefore, when the father exited the vehicle to plow the snow away for them to park, the family car was idling with the heat on so that the mother and children would stay warm. However, unbeknownst to the father or his family inside of the vehicle, when the car was parked, a mound of snow pressed against the tailpipe.

Please be safe! Keep your tailpipe clear at all times! https://t.co/CGIVlrvdn1

— Mea Lockhart (@MeaLockhart) January 24, 2016

With the packed snow against the tailpipe, the carbon monoxide from the vehicle was unable to escape and instead entered back into the vehicle. Since carbon monoxide is odorless, the mother and children were unable to detect that anything was wrong until they slowly passed out from the deadly gas. The father notes that he was only absent from the vehicle for 11 minutes and as soon as he returned to find his family unconscious he called for help.

A neighbor who lived nearby said she exited her home to find a man frantic saying that his family was unconscious. She says she immediately went to his aide and began performing CPR on the children and mother. She says her nephew also tried to give the family CPR and the paramedics. However, she says the little boy had “no life” left as he was not revived at all by their efforts.

“I know that the boy don’t have life because he’s like this and I try and try, and my nephew tried, and premedical tried, those people worked so hard. I tried to help the girl and I put my mouth on the girl’s and paramedics worked so hard to save that kid.”

Reports indicate that paramedics pronounced the mother and infant son dead on the scene, but that the 3-year-old girl was rushed to nearby St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson. The little girl is still listed as in critical condition. Following the tragic incident, people are being reminded to check their tailpipe for snow covering before entering their car in the harsh weather conditions. If the tailpipe has any snow inside or around the outside it should be removed completely.

Did you know that carbon monoxide could pose a danger during snowy times due to the fact that snow could block the tailpipe?

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