LOCAL : Fumes Cited in Van Nuy’s Death
A 26-year-old man died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning after inhaling fumes from a barbecue taken inside a Van Nuys apartment following a birthday party for a friend, authorities said today.
The victim, whose identity was withheld until relatives could be notified, was found dead about 7 p.m. Sunday in a bedroom of the apartment in the 14000 block of Delano Street, Sgt. Alfonso Rodriguez said.
The man had been celebrating the birthday of a friend, Teodorico Torres, 28, the night before with a barbecue on the patio of Torres’ apartment, Rodriguez said.
The party ended about 11 p.m., and Torres and his roommate Guadalupe Rodriguez, 28, took the portable barbecue inside the apartment and left it in the kitchen, Rodriguez said.
Torres told police that he checked and thought the coals were extinguished before the three men went to sleep a short time later.
When Rodriguez and Torres woke Sunday evening, they found the man dead, Rodriguez said. A pet bird was also found dead in the kitchen.
Paramedics took Torres and Rodriguez, who were both ill from inhaling the poisonous fumes, to Valley Presbyterian Hospital, where they were treated and released.
The exact cause of the victim’s death is under investigation, said Los Angeles County coroner spokesman Bob Dambacher.
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