Two children froze to death while they slept with their mother and three siblings inside a van in a Detroit parking garage Monday night.
Police said the children’s homeless mother pulled her van into the parking lot of the Hollywood Casino Hotel at around 1 a.m.
The vehicle ran out of gas as the family of six slept inside. The following morning, the mother noticed that a 9-year-old boy was not breathing.
As she took him to a hospital with a friend, the children’s grandmother called to tell her that a 2-year-old girl was not breathing as well.
Both children were pronounced dead at the hospital. Their siblings were evaluated and treated.
“Very sad. Especially as a father. I just can’t imagine what the family is feeling. I wish it wouldn’t have happened,” Detroit Police Capt. Nathan Duda said.
While the children’s cause of death remains undetermined, detectives believe they froze to death.
“The reality is that the circumstances do have to be examined. We have to figure out how to go forward.”
