Two Detroit children in a van died from carbon monoxide not excessive cold, autopsies show

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DETROIT (AP) — Two Detroit children who recently died in a van in below-freezing temperatures were victims of carbon monoxide, not exposure to cold weather, authorities said Wednesday.

Police had said that Darnell Currie Jr., 9, and A’millah Currie, 2, likely died from the cold while in an unheated vehicle on Feb. 10, though they cautioned that autopsies were pending at the time.

The deaths occurred while their family didn't have a home. There were five children and two adults in a van parked in a casino garage.

The cause of death was carbon monoxide toxicity while the manner of death was accident, said Dr. LokMan Sung, the Wayne County medical examiner.

The deaths caused Detroit officials to try to learn if the family had fallen through cracks in social services.

The children's mother had called the city on Nov. 25 to say their temporary housing was about to end, but no one followed up and she didn’t call back, Mayor Mike Duggan said.

Duggan announced policy changes last week, including in-person visits with families reporting an imminent loss of housing, a 24-hour hotline and police checks of parked cars.

“This cannot ever happen again,” he said.