Benton Harbor, MI – BENTON HARBOR, MI The carbon monoxide that killed one person and hospitalized two others while they were boating on Lake Michigan Sunday afternoon seeped into the boat’s cabin from a crack in a generator’s exhaust, police said.
The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office responded to a medical emergency on Lake Michigan at 2:20 p.m. Sunday after Lorri Lynn Mroz, 45, discovered 53-year-old Leonard Anthony Russian of Cass County unresponsive in the cabin of their boat, which was anchored near Jean Klock Park in Benton Harbor, Berrien County Undersheriff Chuck Heit said.
Overcome by carbon monoxide filling the enclosed cabin, Mroz, of Cass County, retreated above deck to yell for help, while nearby boater, Richard E. Cook, 63, of Granger, Ind., heard the calls and boarded the vessel to “render aid,” Heit said.
In addition, a number of people heard the cries from along the beach and helped emergency personnel tow the boat to shore, Heit said.
Russian, who was found below deck, was pronounced dead at the scene while Mroz and Cook were taken to hospitals in Grand Rapids and St. Joseph for treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning, police have said.
An inspection of the boat performed Monday determined the carbon monoxide leaked from a crack in the generator’s exhaust and spread “into the cabin area of the boat,” Heit said.
Heit said the incident appears to be accidental and police have found “no signs of foul play.”
Since the incident, Cook has been released from the hospital while Mroz is listed in stable condition, Heit said.
In addition, a number of “Good Samaritans” admitted themselves to local hospitals following the incident, Heit said.