Warsaw, IN – Two children were taken to the hospital over the weekend after being exposed to carbon monoxide.
It happened around 9 p.m. in Warsaw after a mother had been driving her daughter and a friend’s child around town. April McCool noticed the children seemed unresponsive. Turns out, a carbon monoxide leak from her van put the children in danger.
McCool is now seeking criminal consequences for the man who performed a botched car repair on her van. But, the man who did the repair said he never meant to hurt anyone.
The two families involved are neighbors on Lake Sharon Street. McCool started driving the neighbor’s daughter to school because the neighbors did not have their own transportation.
Soon after, McCool noticed she was having some trouble with her van.
The girl’s father offered to fix the van as long as McCool bought the necessary parts and got him a pack of cigarettes, according to Stacey Page Online. But, McCool said the correct parts were not used in the repair.
Instead, she believes the family next door tried to save money and use materials found around the house to fix the van, according to Stacey Page Online.
She had been complaining about her catalytic converter being noisy, said Angel Carpenter, who is engaged to the man who performed the repair. [My fiancée] said ‘I can fix that.’
Carpenter said that the right parts were not purchased for the van.
A couple of weeks after the repair, McCool had a big vehicle issue while driving around town.
Children were basically unresponsive because of carbon monoxide poisoning, said Lt. Kip Shuter, from the Warsaw Police Department.
According to Stacey Page Online, one of the kids was seen foaming at the mouth inside the van, barely able to breathe.
The kids were rushed to the hospital as officers examined the van in the 800 block of Arthur Street.
Officers looked under the van and found a partial new area and also found that a can had been duct taped, Shutter said.
The Warsaw Police Department is now being asked to investigate whether there was criminal intent behind the repair gone wrong.
My reaction was ‘Oh my God’ there are going to try and charge my fiancée with attempted murder and he was just trying to help, Carpenter said. It’s not that kind of case.
As the investigation plays out, Carpenter insists her fiancée was trying to get McCool’s van back in driving condition.
It’s not fair what she’s done, Carpenter said.
McCool sent Newscenter 16 a Facebook message Thursday afternoon stating that she felt like the other family was trying to turn the situation around on her and that she would never put her children in harm’s way.