VINEYARD, Utah, Aug. 7, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Two adults are critically injured and a third, plus three young children, were also hospitalized after a build up of carbon monoxide from car exhaust overnight at a Vineyard residence.
Sgt. Spencer Cannon, Utah County Sheriff‘s Office said officials were alerted to a problem at a residence in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
“When the deputies got there, the garage door was open and the car was in the garage,” Cannon said. “There was a man who was lying on the ground on the floor of the garage outside of the car. He was breathing, but he was not conscious, and the deputy said there was a strong smell of automobile exhaust fumes, and he backed out.
“When another deputy got there, they jumped in real quick and pulled this guy out, and then they noticed a woman’s legs kind of hanging out one of the (car’s) doors.”
The deputies went in again, and brought out the woman.
“She was not breathing, and she did not have a pulse, and so they started CPR on her,” Cannon said. “That continued after Orem paramedics arrived.”
Both people from the garage were taken to Utah County hospitals, and the woman, believed to be in her early to mid-20s, “was later flown by medical helicopter to IMC up in Murray, in critical condition. He was in critical condition, too,” Cannon said of the man, believed to be 32.
“I haven’t gotten a recent update on either of them, but that was their status. She was in especially bad shape.”
Inside the living area of the residence, officers found a woman, believed to be in her early 20s, and children, ages 9 months, 2 years and 4 years.
“Those four were taken to the hospital, but it doesn’t look like their problem is going to be life threatening.”
Cannon said investigators don’t know why the man and woman in the garage had the car running, “but it doesn’t look like suicide. It doesn’t appear to be a faulty appliance problem or anything like that. But whatever happened, they got to them, at least in time to give them a chance, I guess. It was a scary situation.”
Gephardt Daily will share more information as details are released.
