By Chris Oberholtz, Sandra Olivas & Justin Schmidt
KCTV5 – November 6, 2013
Four people were rushed to area hospitals Wednesday morning to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning.
Firefighters responded to reports of carbon monoxide leak at 7:30 a.m. to a home in the 8000 block or West 121st Terrace.
Overland Park police said two of the people who live in the house drove their SUV to the store Tuesday night. When they got home and parked it in the garage, it appears they forgot to turn off the vehicle, and they went to bed.
A passerby discovered a teenage boy lying on the grass at 7:30 a.m. suffering from carbon monoxide exposure.
The driver stopped to help him and was told there were two adult women and a 9-year-old boy still in the house.
He called 911, and emergency crews arrived and took all four people to the hospital. Two were in critical condition, and the other two in serious condition.
Carbon monoxide levels were more than 40 times higher than safe exposure levels, firefighters said.
Police said they have interviewed some of the victims and do not believe it was intentional.
“At this point, it looks like a tragic accident, vehicle parked in garage, running possibly overnight. Looking into that. Looks like an accident,” Officer Gary Mason said. “It is rare. Most people are conscious and turn the car off. But it can certainly happen and it’s a good reminder for all us. Certainly be aware especially with these new hybrid vehicles with push button start. Very easy and quiet not to notice if they are on or off. And it could happen and it does happen.”
Investigators said they did not find a single carbon monoxide detector inside the house that would have alerted the family about the problem.
Fire investigators say it is important for homeowners to have carbon monoxide monitors to detect problems as well any leaks that could happen when turning on furnaces for the season.
For more information about carbon monoxide safety, visit the fire page at www.opkansas.org.
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