PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. --
A man’s wife is in critical condition and his mother is dead after a rare, but lethal accident with dry ice.
The 51-year-old University Place man called police after finding his 51-year-old wife and his 77-year-old mother unconscious in their car around 4 A.M. Friday.
The man runs an ice cream delivery business that uses dry ice. He stored several coolers of it in the back seat of the car.
Pierce County Medical Examiners say the 77-year-old woman likely died from asphyxiation due to the dry ice.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s explained to Q13 News that the incident is an extremely rare and tragic accident. “It’s something I never knew could happen. We’ve all been around dry ice, but in enough quantities and a sealed condition it can be toxic and lethal, as now we now unfortunately found out”, said spokesperson Ed Troyer.
Dry ice is a solid form of carbon dioxide that transforms to gas when exposed to open air. According to the University of Washington’s Department of Environmental Health and Safety, the effects are lethal when confined to non-ventilated spaces.
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Woman, 71, dies of asphyxiation when her ice cream deliveryman son stores four coolers of dry ice in her car
The victim's son, 51, called the police after he found his wife, 51, and mother, 77, passed out in their car in University Place, Washington
He smashed a rear window with a rock, unlocked the car, and pulled his unconscious wife out and called 911
His 71-year-old mother was pronounced dead the scene
The man and his wife were rushed to hospital where his wife remains
The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the cause of death as asphyxiation due to displacement of oxygen by carbon dioxide
By Hannah Parry For Dailymail.com
Published: 14:56 EDT, 30 July 2018 | Updated: 15:22 EDT, 30 July 2018
An elderly woman has died from asphyxiation after her ice cream deliveryman son, stored four coolers of dry ice in her car.
The victim's son, 51, called the police after he found his wife, 51, and mother, 77, passed out in their car in University Place, Washington. Police have not released the names of anyone involved.
He became concerned when his wife didn't return from dropping off his mother at 11pm, after he woke up at 4am for work
He found the car just a few blocks away and his mom and wife unconscious inside.
The ice cream man said he smashed a rear window with a rock, unlocked the car, and pulled his unconscious wife out and called 911, Kiro7.
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An elderly woman has died from asphyxiation after her ice cream deliveryman son, stored four coolers of dry ice in her car
His mother was pronounced dead the scene.
The man and his wife were rushed to hospital. The 51-year-old woman was in critical condition Friday.
The ice cream deliveryman told police that he's stored the four coolers of dry ice in the back of the car 'because he delivered Dippin' Dots to various locations,' Troyer said.
'He recently got a new car. The newer car probably had better sealing.'
The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the cause of death as asphyxiation due to displacement of oxygen by carbon dioxide, and have pointed the blame at dry ice.
Dry ice, a solid form of carbon dioxide, can pose a danger in small, non-ventilated spaces. As the frozen carbon dioxide melts, it releases CO2 gas, displacing oxygen in the air which can quickly cause 'difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness and death.'
'At this point we're just looking at this as horrific accident,' sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.
Troyer added that death by dry-ice asphyxiation was rare but it happened.