Boy Dies From CO Poisoning In Snowed-In Dorchester Car
DORCHESTER (CBS) - A teenage boy became the first casualty of the Blizzard of 2013 in Massachusetts Saturday afternoon.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Doug Cope reports
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According to the Boston Fire Department, he was shoveling a sidewalk with his father outside an apartment building on Nazing Street in Dorchester when he became tired and cold and climbed into a running car to get warm.
Read: Carbon Monoxide Safety Tips
The back of the car was buried in a four-foot-high snowbank, which clogged the tailpipe and caused carbon monoxide to leak into the vehicle.
Read: Post-Blizzard Safety Tips
The boy was overcome by the fumes and went into cardiac arrest.
When EMTs arrived, two neighbors were performing CPR on him. He was rushed to the hospital, but they were unable to revive him.
The boy's father, realizing what happened, was overcome and went into respiratory arrest. He was also taken to a Boston hospital.
"He did say, 'My son, my son!,'" Octavius Rowe said. "Out of this tragedy, we have to try and pull out a lesson so the rest of us don't make the same mistake."
The father's condition has not been released, but he is expected to survive.
This incident was one of several CO incidents across the state.
It became such a problem that authorities held an immediate press conference to warn of such incidents.
"All inidcations are these were tragic accidents when people were in their cars with tailpipes that were blocked," said Dr. Barbara Ferrer from the Boston Public Health Commission.
"These were accidents," added Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser. "People were just trying to get out there and do the right thing."
