A blocked car tailpipe is dangerous because it can fill up the interior of a car with carbon monoxide. That is exactly what happened in New Jersey, where a mother and her 1-year-old son died of carbon monoxide poisoning inside a car while her 3-year-old daughter is currently in critical condition because of the same incident.
According to ABC7, the mother was 23-year-old Sasha Lynn Rossa, the son was named Messiah, and the daughter was named Saniyah. The three carbon monoxide poisoning victims were taken to St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic, New Jersey where Rossa and Messiah were pronounced dead. Saniyah has been transferred to St. Joseph's Hospital but is still in critical condition.
The tragedy happened when the father asked his family to stay inside the car while he was trying to take off the snow from their car. Unfortunately, the tailpipe of the vehicle has been blocked with snow which filled up the car with carbon monoxide, poisoning the mother and her two children.
"I know that the boy doesn't have life because he's like this and I try and try, and my nephew tried, and premedical tried, those people worked so hard," said Isabel Carmona, a neighbor of the victims who responded during the incident. "I tried to help the girl and I put my mouth on the girl's and the paramedics worked so hard to save that kid."
"Any snow that covers your tailpipe you want to shovel the snow from the back of the car and clear the tailpipe before you even start the car," said Chris DiBella, Batallion Chief at the Passaic Police Department. As of now, Rossa and Messiah are the only fatalities caused by the current New Jersey storm.
Every year, over 400 people in America die of carbon monoxide poisoning unrelated to fires. The CDC shared some tips on how to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning inside a car such as getting regular maintenance check-ups of the car's exhaust system -- making sure to open the vents or windows of the car when opening the vehicle's tailgate.
