We now know the cause of death for the two Detroit kids who died in freezing temperatures inside of a van. 9-year-old Darnell Currie Jr. and 2-year-old A'millah Currie died on February 10 overnight. They shared the van with their mother and three other siblings, spending that night in a casino garage.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Unfortunately, the mother had nowhere else to go, but would you believe that their cause of death wasn't hypothermia? The authorities revealed on Wednesday that the two children had succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning. Although they managed to reach a Children's Hospital, doctors pronounced them dead, initially thinking they simply froze to death.
Two Kids In Van Died Overnight Due To Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
As per the Daily Mail, the Wayne County medical examiner, Dr. LokMan Sung, explained that it was an accident. Investigations found that the mother and her children were living in her van for months. On November 25, she called the city to inform them of her temporary housing ending. Sadly, no one called her back, according to Mayor Mike Duggan.
"For whatever reason, this wasn't deemed an emergency that caused an outreach worker to visit the family," said Duggan. "As far as we've been able to determine so far, the family never called back again for service."
Although the garage may have seemed like a warm place to stay at 1 AM, the mother awoke at noon the next day to her unresponsive children. At first, she only noticed one of her children wouldn't wake up. Then, after calling a family member for help, she noticed another one of her children was unresponsive.
It certainly didn't help that she ran out of gas while they slept. At the time, the temperature outside was under 20 degrees Fahrenheit. But cars running in garages can quickly lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. The fumes from the car's exhaust build up, and inhaling the fumes can lead to death.
In response to the tragedy, Mayor Duggan announced changes to policies for families who lose housing. He plans to implement in-person visits with families who lose their homes. On top of that, there will be a 24-hour hotline and police checks for parked cars to make sure this never happens again.
"This is something that's going to be hard to accept for a long time, that we had the beds in place," he continued. According to the outlet, they would've had plenty of beds available for the family. "This cannot ever happen again."
