Boston boy dies of carbon monoxide poisoning while shoveling out from blizzard

[Tab]

Boston.com
An 11-year-old boy died after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning inside a car that had a blocked tailpipe this morning near the Roxbury-Dorchester line, according to the Boston Fire Department. The boy was taking a break from shoveling out from the blizzard.

After the boy and his father cleared the passenger side of the sedan, the boy got cold and sought refuge in the running sedan whose tailpipe was covered by a snow bank, Boston fire spokesman Steve MacDonald said in a brief telephone interview. The car filled with carbon monoxide, and the father continued to shovel; the boy became sick and stopped breathing.

At 11:40 a.m., firefighters responded to 3 Nazing St., about 30 feet from Blue Hill Avenue, and found the boy in cardiac arrest receiving CPR from two neighbors, MacDonald said. The father, possibly because of distress, then went into respiratory arrest, MacDonald said.

The boy was only in the car for 10 to 15 minutes, but the car was covered with snow and the colorless deadly gas could not escape through the muffler, said Jennifer Mehigan, a spokeswoman for Boston EMS.

The boy was revived by the neighbors, paramedics, and firefighters, but was pronounced dead at Boston Medical Center, MacDonald said. The father was also taken to BMC and is in serious condition.
...
As the blizzard slows, people should clear any heating vents in their homes and vehicles to let poison gases escape, Mehigan said. Anyone experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning — headache, dizziness, or vomiting — should get fresh air and call 911.
More: http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2013/02/09/boston-boy-dies-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-after-shoveling-out-from-blizzard/jTgqG3MSPPRMy7CrIB7fbM/story.html

This is just tragic, and an example of the indirect ways a storm like this can be dangerous.

[msanthrope]

1. Horrible, horrible. nt

[freshwest]

16. Tears for this family.

[Earth_First]

2. What a tragedy.

This father must be devestated.

[dipsydoodle]

3. That's just awful.

.

[Democracyinkind]

4. OMG. So sorry...

Imagine how bad that is for the father... life is so sad at times...

[kestrel91316]

5. Why aren't people THINKING???

This is horrible - and completely preventable.

[Mariana]

10. Most people ARE thinking

and they're doing it very well. If they weren't, we'd have a LOT more people dead from this storm.

[bluestate10]

15. I had the same reaction. An adult should have known that the first thing to clear on a

car with the motor running is the exhaust pipe area. The child's death was preventable.

[Demo_Chris]

19. I didn't know that, and not sure I would have thought of it.

[BainsBane]

20. I've never thought to check my tail pipe

and I dig my car out of the snow regularly. Though I've never done that situation. I turn on the car and defroster, and then work on scraping the snow off.

It's a tragic situation, and I have no doubt that father's grief is unbearable. He is repeating all of this and more in his mind.

[CTyankee]

22. We do what you do in clearing off the car. But we rarely have snowing high

enough to block the tailpipe, and even when we do, we don't clear off the car until we can drive it out of the driveway. If the snow is high enough to block the tailpipe, then we have a driveway that hasn't been plowed out yet...

[JI7]

18. i don't come from a place where it snows and i would have easily thought what the boy did

was ok. i would never have thought of what could occur. especially if was just for a few minutes which is all it took to take this boy's life.

is it something people who live in places where it snows are familiar with ?

such a sad story.

[Tab]

21. Yes, we are

At least I learned it at an early age. But if you're not used to it, it's so easy to just think you have to shovel out the car, you work on the wheels (usually) and the tail pipe is at the end (no pun intended). Since the motor's running, you don't associate a blocked tailpipe with a problem. Therein lies the danger.

[gollygee]

6. That's heartbreaking

How horrible!

[lpbk2713]

7. I could not bear with that kind of pain.

My thoughts go out to the family.

[Junkdrawer]

8. Hopefully word gets out so it won't be repeated.

Incredibly sad.

[bigwillq]

9. So sad.

[Little Star]

11. That has broken my heart.

[Tien1985]

12. I can't even imagine.

The poor family.

[robertkdem1965_h89]

13. OMG that's just awful

May that boy rest in peace. Sad that he had to go out at such a young age.

[NoGOPZone]

14. Tragic

Unfortunately, ten to fifteen is more than enough to kill at the level of CO in auto exhaust, even with modern pollution controls. Condolences to the family

[nobodyspecial]

17. I can't imagine the pain and guilt that father feels