Fumes apparently kill 2 men asleep in horse trailer
Two men were found dead Friday in a horse trailer at an equestrian park in Riverside County after they were apparently overcome by carbon monoxide fumes from a portable gas generator they were using to keep warm while they slept as temperatures dipped to near freezing, sheriff’s officials said.
The men were identified as Jorge Rodriguez-Ramirez, 47, of Vancouver, Wash., and Armando Sanchez Gallardo, 21, hometown unknown.
They were discovered early Friday in the trailer, parked in a lot at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal. The park is currently the site of a major national horse show.
A sheriff’s news release did not indicate whom the men were working for. A decal on the side of the trailer said it was from Woodlawn Farms in Alberta, Canada, one law enforcement source said.
“The decedents appeared to have been overcome by carbon monoxide fumes from the generator’s exhaust,” the news release said.
Autopsies were expected to be performed Monday.
Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said sheriff’s investigators quickly concluded that the death was accidental.
Gutierrez said such accidents are not uncommon when people use portable heaters in areas without sufficient ventilation.
“Unfortunately, it happens quite a lot when it gets cold,” he said. “It’s tragic. But it’s not a crime.”
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