Accidental carbon monoxide poisoning killed 2 teens in St. Charles, police say
Carbon monoxide poisoning, due to a faulty exhaust-system setup, killed two teenagers March 16 in St. Charles, the Kane County Coroner's Office announced Tuesday.
Kody Dietrich, 18, of St. Charles, and Adalina Donoso, 18, of Racine, Wisconsin, were found unresponsive at 8:08 a.m. that day in the back seat of a 2001 Toyota Camry parked on the 100 block of North 17th Street.
No other substances were found in their bloodstreams, according to the coroner's news release.
According to a St. Charles police news release, the car's manifold was not connected to the exhaust tail pipe. Exhaust emptied into the engine compartment instead of out the tailpipe.
Police, with the help of the St. Charles Fire Department, tested the vehicle. After running the engine for 35 minutes, tests indicated carbon monoxide levels of 1,180 parts per million molecules. According to the release, levels over 30 ppm are considered hazardous.
Police said Dietrich had recently worked on the car.
Dietrich and Donoso were dating, according to police.
Dietrich was a junior at St. Charles East High School.