Genoa Township, OH — A man is dead and his wife seriously ill after carbon monoxide poisoning in Genoa Township Tuesday afternoon.
Joe Ponzi, Genoa Twp. fire chief, said family members hadn’t heard from the couple since Saturday night and went over to check on them at their Bretton Place home. Relatives found Edward Yu, 78, dead, and his wife seriously injured.
Ponzi said it’s believed the couple’s Mercedes SUV was left running in the garage. Investigators said the gas tank was empty when they arrived. The car is equipped with push-button ignition, and investigators speculate the car was accidentally left running. Ponzi said he too owns a car with a push-button on/off switch.
Genoa Twp investigators had to deal with the death of a family of four due to CO poisoning a little more than a year ago. Ponzi said after that incident, detectors flew off the shelves of area stores.
“You couldn’t find carbon monoxide detectors around her for a while,” he said. But now he worries the lessons are being forgotten.“It’s hard to believe that in this day and age, we walk in to houses and people don’t have them.”