Jacksonville, FL – An elderly woman died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning after her vehicle was left running inside the garage of her Mandarin condominium, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Friday.
Homicide detectives said death of the woman in hers 80s appeared to be accidental, and foul play is not suspected.
Police were called about 3:30 p.m. to conduct a welfare check on an elderly resident at the Cottages at Greenland townhome-style condominium complex on Greenland Road, west of I-95, in the Mandarin area.
Sheriff’s Office Homicide Sgt. David Smith said when they arrived on scene, “We were met with neighbors who were not felling well and were smelling fumes in the residence.”
Police said they then entered the condo of the elderly resident they were checking on, and found her dead.
“It’s very disheartening to hear this kind of news,” neighbor Michael O’Conor said.
Smith said the woman had left her vehicle running in the garage, closed the door and exhaust fumes filled the garage and her residence.
He said firefighters detected extreme levels of carbon monoxide in her residence, and surrounding condos were evacuated. Smith said the levels in nearby condos were higher than normal, but not lethal.
Two people who were not feeling well were taken to a hospital as a precaution, Smith said. He described their injuries as being non-life-threatening.
One resident told News4Jax that neighbors had been worried about the elderly woman’s well-being.
The last thing I heard from her is that she was just going to stay in and not go out and we hadn’t heard from her in three days,” Jose Banks said. “We were wondering if she was OK.”
Though detectives believe the woman’s death was accidental, they asked anyone with information to call the Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500.