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Father Dies From Carbon Monoxide Poisoning From Snow-Covered Tailpipe, 3rd Death From Tailpipe Snow In Jonas Storm

Published on: January 26, 2016 at 2:17 PM
By Tara West

Winter Storm Jonas has highlighted a lesser known snow hazard that can prove deadly. A third person has died from carbon monoxide poisoning related to snow from Winter Storm Jonas covering a car tailpipe. A Brooklyn father went missing after he left his home to earn some extra income shoveling snow. When he didn’t return, his wife went searching for the man and found him unconscious behind the wheel of his car.

The 44-year-old man, Angel Ginel, had died from carbon monoxide poisoning after snow covered his vehicle’s tailpipe, causing the deadly fumes to enter the car. Earlier in the week, a mother and her infant son died from carbon monoxide poisoning when snow also covered their car tailpipe as they waited for a parking spot.

The Daily Mail reports that 44-year-old Angel Ginel was found dead in his vehicle after he suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning. The father reportedly left his Brooklyn home to shovel snow to earn some extra cash after Winter Storm Jonas left the city covered. However, the man never returned from his snow shoveling job, so his wife went looking for him. She found the man sitting behind the wheel of his car as the vehicle was left running in the cold. The tailpipe was covered with snow, which forced the deadly carbon monoxide from the engine back into the vehicle. Ginel breathed in the fumes and passed out.

According to the New York Daily News , the deceased man’s wife, Ramonita Ginel, became worried after her husband stopped answering his phone.

“He gave me a kiss goodbye and said he’ll see me later. Then I kept calling his phone. I kept calling his phone because he didn’t come home last night, I kept calling leaving him messages.”

With the father not returning, Ramonita set out to find her husband in the snowy streets. She says that it appeared that Angel had just finished plowing a driveway when he got into his vehicle to go to his next job. However, when he entered the car, the devastated wife says he was plowed in with mounds of snow as a plow passed through the area. She says snow was covering the vehicle, including the tailpipe. This caused a chain of events that ultimately led to Angel’s death. As he waited for the plow to pass, the carbon monoxide entered his car through his now-covered tailpipe. He would pass out and eventually die from the deadly, odorless fumes.

The grieving wife said she called her nephew and son to come help her remove her husband from the vehicle because the snow plow had completely covered the vehicle, making it impossible to get to her husband inside. She says when they finally opened the door, Angel was dead.

“I’m calling him ‘Angel! Angel!’ and I didn’t see him moving or breathing. Then I called my son and my nephew to come. He helped me shovel out the snow and my son and my nephew shovel out and when we opened the door he was dead.”

Sadly, Angel Ginel is not the only person to die in the northeast from a snow-covered tailpipe. A mother and her infant son passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning in New Jersey after their vehicle’s tailpipe became covered with snow. The family of five were riding in the vehicle when they had difficulty finding a parking spot. Therefore, the husband got out to shovel a spot for the vehicle to park. However, when he returned to the car just 11 minutes later, he found his wife and two children unconscious. The wife and infant son were pronounced dead at the scene from carbon monoxide poisoning, while a 3-year-old little girl who was also in the car is listed in critical condition.

Did you know that snow covered tailpipes could be deadly? Do you check your vehicle for snow before entering?

[Image via Shutterstock]

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