Van Dwellers Found Dead in CA

[lenny flank]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/4-people-found-dead-parked-van-southern-california-142923424.html



[font=Georgia,]> There were no signs of obvious trauma. The cause of death is still under investigation, but authorities suspect carbon monoxide poisoning based on their initial observations, Whitney said.[/font]


There is no mention specifically of a "heater", but it's a pretty good bet.

 

[cyndi]

This makes me sick

 

[Annie W]

so tragic.

And more appalling is the response: "What is tragic about this is we have our special  resources teams that have connections to different resources," Whitney said. "We don't want these people living in their cars, and especially with small children. We want them off the streets for their own safety."
Really??
if all the Kind-hearted  :heart: folks who have ALREADY BUILT safe, & warm TINY HOUSES for the homeless, were they Allowed to be used by the powers-that-be, then families like this one could already be "safe, & warm".


All such suffering is totally PREVENTABLE.

 

[Wanderer]

I wonder if they tried to use a charcoal fire to keep warm and didn't realize how dangerous that is

 

[Canine]

Annie W, good point. Good thing the government is their to protect us from ourselves. (Sarcasm. I agree with your statement.)

 

[DesertRose]

It was a suicide. The woman who found him and blogged about it is a very good writer. (1 initial post and 1 followup post.)

 

[cyndi]

^
Link to the blog, please?

 

[DesertRose]

Hi cyndi, wasn't sure if I should do that, but now I will, thanks.

initial post: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2016/10/11/something-terrible/

followup post: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/?s=More+about+the+man+who+died

 

[gramakittycat]

This was in 2016 not the current .It was a family of 4 ,mom,dad and 2 kids,all dressed for bed.....Tragic

 

[Van Mama Wannabe]

The local newspaper, The Orange County Register (ocregister.com) offers another theory of the cause of death of the family of four:

“The van was parked right next to a grass median, which possibly obstructed the exhaust system and may have caused lethal levels of carbon monoxide to fill the vehicle, according to [Garden Grove police Lt. Carl] Whitney.”

https://www.ocregister.com/2018/03/16/family-of-4-with-2-children-found-dead-in-van-in-garden-grove/

In the immortal words of Phil Esterhaus, “Let’s be careful out there!”

 

[C-Cat]

This is absolutely heartbreaking... but instead of the authorities proposing all kinds of heavy handed outlawing, how about educating people about the dangers of CO and the need to add detectors to your rig... I have 2 battery powered units in my RV additional to the manufacturers detector and no Van/RV/Car dwelller should ever be without one!

 

[cyndi]

Thanks for the clarification, GKC.

I remember RTA writing those blogs.

 

[DesertRose]

Apologies folks. Thanks for correcting about wrong thread post. This family died only 12 miles from where I currently live. It really hits home, but not just for me... all of us here.

 

[lenny flank]

“The van was parked right next to a grass median, which possibly obstructed the exhaust system and may have caused lethal levels of carbon monoxide to fill the vehicle, according to [Garden Grove police Lt. Carl] Whitney.”

Alas, running the vehicle engine all night for heat is a REALLY bad idea.

 

[Wanderer]

The family had been living in the van for some time and relatives were aware of the situation but the father did not seek help, Whitney said.



Pride kills I guess....I will admit, if I had kids, I'd do almost anything to have them in a house and safe. I can tolerate the heat and cold and not cry (Too much) but when kids are involved, I'd beg for help.....

 

[Victor]

I live in cold country and never run the car when I'm sleeping. It's all about cold weather gear. Sad to see these stories.