THEY WERE FAR TOO YOUNG…! – A FAMILY HAS IDENTIFIED THE FIVE PEOPLE FOUND D-E:AD INSIDE AN SUV, INCLUDING FOUR YOUNG CHILDREN, IN A HEARTBREAKING TRAGEDY.
Family identifies 5 victims, including 4 children, found in SUV with suspected carbon monoxide poisoning
Legacy “Ace” Coleman, 4, who was fighting for his life in the hospital, will be taken off life support Friday, according to his mother. (Source: WTVG)
TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG/Gray News) — The fifth and final family member exposed to carbon monoxide in a vehicle in Ohio will be removed from life support Friday, the family said.
Four other family members have already died in the tragedy.
Family members have identified the five victims as:
Stone “Stoner” Coleman, 2
Storm “Butterfly” Coleman, 3
Liberty “Peach” Coleman, 4
Legacy “Ace” Coleman, 4, (Liberty’s twin, who is being removed from life support)
Candace “Big Mama/Kandie” McAllister, 36, the children’s grandmother
Toledo police said officers received a call Wednesday at about 11 a.m. reporting five unconscious people in a Ford Explorer on the side of a roadway.
City of Toledo spokesperson Rachel Hart said McAllister was in the vehicle with her grandchildren when she called her son, the children’s father, saying they had a flat tire. When the father arrived at the scene, he found everyone unconscious.
The children’s mother, Adriana Coleman, is heartbroken over the tragic loss.
“Just to be 4, 3 and 2, they all had so much personality and life and were so full of love. They were far beyond their years for sure,” Adriana Coleman said.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz issued a statement Wednesday afternoon confirming the tragedy.
“Our hearts are with this family as they face an unimaginable loss … We also extend our gratitude to the first responders, medical personnel, and law enforcement officers who responded swiftly and did everything they could under incredibly difficult circumstances,” Kapszukiewicz said.
The mayor said that foul play is not suspected, but there will be a thorough investigation to determine what happened.
Carbon monoxide detected in vehicle
The presence of carbon monoxide was confirmed in the Ford Explorer. Toledo Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said investigators started the vehicle with the doors closed and a meter inside.
“We had a high spike of carbon monoxide inside the passenger compartment on that vehicle,” Armstrong said in a phone interview.
She said the vehicle was towed by police.
“They’re going to have to do some further investigation to see if they can identify how does that happen,” Armstrong said. “I think that’s an important piece of this that people want to know, and they should know for everybody’s safety.”
