Despite their mother’s efforts to get assistance from local services for homeless families, two small children died of hypothermia Monday while inside a van parked in the parking lot of the Detroit Hollywood Casino.
According to the Detroit Police Department, the two- and nine-year-old children were discovered dead inside the family’s vehicle on Monday afternoon when it was parked in the Greektown section of Detroit in below-freezing conditions.
The mother was attempting to sleep in the van with her five kids and an additional adult.
The National Weather Service reports that early Monday morning’s outside temperatures dropped as low as 11 degrees Fahrenheit.
For several months, the anonymous woman and her five kids had been homeless and frequently parked at casino parking ramps in the Detroit region to spend the night inside the van.
The mother had previously called Detroit’s homeless response team multiple times to get assistance; her most recent call was in November.
She informed a homeless response team supervisor during that conversation that although she and her kids were sleeping with relatives, they would not be able to do so in the future.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan told reporters at a press conference held at the city’s police headquarters on Tuesday that “no resolution was reached on where they would go during that conversation.”
The mother called for assistance in November, but the city’s homeless response team did not follow up, according to Duggan, who also stated that beds were available at local shelters.
“We have to make sure that we do everything possible to make sure that this doesn’t happen again,” Duggan stated.
“I’m talking about the system as a whole,” Duggan stated. “Are we doing everything to make sure people in the city know how to access this critical care?”
According to authorities, the family parked on the ninth floor of the Hollywood Casino’s lot on Monday morning at around 1 a.m. EST.
The car’s heater stopped operating because the engine was either out of gas or had a mechanical issue that prevented it from idling.
According to interim Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison, the mother contacted 911 and a friend for assistance after realizing the oldest boy was not breathing just after noon on Monday.
The children’s grandmother dialed 911 after the friend brought the 9-year-old to a neighboring children’s hospital, according to Bettison.
According to Bettison, the buddy went back to the parking ramp to transport the girl to the hospital, where both children were declared deceased.
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At 12:47 p.m., hospital personnel reported the two fatalities to the Detroit Police.
Although the formal cause of death for each child has not been established by a medical examiner, police stated that hypothermia is thought to be the cause of death.
The other three youngsters, who are currently staying with relatives, were inspected by hospital officials, according to authorities.
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When the cops arrived at the parking ramp on Monday afternoon, it was 32 degrees outdoors and the five youngsters were between the ages of 2 and 13.
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