3 Women Found Dead in Car in Parking Lot Near Squaw Valley - Watch Your Tailpipe

[Skis4Fun]

To avoid cluttering up the Tahoe Conditions thread which is due for some more positive stoke from the recent storm, this sad story is posted separately.


Condolences to the families & friends of these young women.

CBS radio said something that seemed to indicate that some of these women may have been Squaw employees. The radio also said that it was not the main Squaw parking lot.

It sounds like these young women may have been dedicated powderhounds stoked about the snowstorm and perhaps hoping to get first tracks today.


... Please note that the poll is anonymous.



Photos here: http://www.appeal-democrat.com/artic...tml/sara_.html and http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?sec...ate&id=6559294

For more info go to: http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ta...9246&scoring=n

Tuesday, December 16, 2008


...A Squaw Valley security guard found three young women dead Tuesday afternoon at 1:05 pm in a parking lot near the resort.

According to Lt. Allan Carter of the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, Lacey Louann Sutton, 22, of Marysville, Sara Alice McCullah, 21, of Marysville, and a 17-year-old juvenile female from Loma Rica appeared to have died from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.

According to Carter, the preliminary investigation indicated the women had been sleeping in the car overnight, when snow from Monday’s heavy storm blocked the vehicle’s tailpipe, causing carbon monoxide to enter the passenger compartment of the car.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 500 carbon monoxide deaths occur annually with increases during winter.

The Sheriff’s Office warned travelers to snow country that they should never sleep in their vehicle with the engine running.



...Snow was blocking the vehicle's tailpipe, the Placer County Sheriff's Department said, causing the toxic gas to enter the 1983 Oldsmobile sedan.

Lt. Allan Carter from the department said the engine was running at the time the bodies were found.

"It appears to be a tragic, accidental carbon monoxide poisoning incident," Carter said.

Carter said the car was covered by what appeared to be a foot of snow.

The resort's Web site reported it had received 3 feet of new snow from a storm system that moved in over the weekend and continued dropping snow through Tuesday.



...Snow on Monday afternoon was falling at a rate of an inch an hour Monday with snowfalls ranging from 22 to 36 inches at Squaw Valley.

The National Weather Service in Reno estimates that "probably a good 25 inches" had fallen in the area where the car was found.

"It definitely supports over 2 feet," meteorologist Jim Wallmann said Tuesday evening.

Carter said the lot where the car was found is used for employee parking at Squaw Valley ski resort, Carter said.

"That is not the same lot that everyone who primarily comes there as a guest parks on," he said. "It is kind of in the back and out of the way."



...Authorities found no evidence of alcohol or other drug use and do not suspect foul play.

Sutton and McCullah had moved recently to the Squaw Valley area from Marysville to work at the resort, said McCullah's mother, Cindy Walczak.

McCullah, a certified nursing assistant, was scheduled to work at the resort's locker rental office and find a nursing job in the community, her mother said.

"She wanted to be part of the Squaw Valley crew and also wanted to do private nursing care," Walczak said. "She never got the chance."

The car was found just a few yards from the hostel where McCullah and Sutton were living with other resort employees.

"They probably just got bored, they had been so excited waiting for the snow," Walczak said. "I'm sure they just fell asleep watching the snow. When they found out Squaw Valley was opening, they were up in the heavens."

McCullah and Sutton had been best friends since elementary school and left together for Squaw Valley last month.

Sutton was a "very creative" young woman who could knit a pattern from memory, Walczak said. "She was very self-driven," Walczak said. "She had a beautiful smile. She was amazing."

McCullah wanted to eventually start a pig farm and teach at-risk teens about the hard work necessary to keep up a farm, said her sister, Kristie McCullah. "She's the most caring person I know," her sister said. "She always had dreams and aspirations to help teens in need."

In an interview last month with the Marysville Appeal-Democrat, McCullah said she wanted to "have lots of children and a huge family and a lot of dogs and cows and chickens and goats."

The young woman also said she admired her mother more than anyone because she had raised a family of six kids alone.

Authorities said there were no indications that the women were trapped inside the vehicle.



...Some quotes from McCullah profile interview http://www.appeal-democrat.com/artic...tml/sara_.html referenced in news stories above.

• Whom do you most admire and why? My mom, because she got through hard times raising six kids by herself. She put food on the table and always made sure we were well-taken care of.

• How would you describe yourself? Genuinely kind-hearted

• What kind of pets do you have? Missy, my dog

• What is your dream job? I want to be a pig farmer and have lots of children and a huge family and a lot of dogs and cows and chickens and goats.

• Share a favorite childhood memory: My whole family once snuck into Universal Studios.

• If you were in charge, what would you change about the community? I would make sure there was more leadership and more mentors for the youth.



...The girls moved from Marysville to the area last month and were supposed to start work at Squaw Valley Tuesday but never showed up.




WATCH YOUR TAILPIPE (Tips from news articles)

...Carbon monoxide is a tasteless, odorless gas that kills by binding to hemoglobin in the blood, preventing it from carrying oxygen to the body. Signs of carbon monoxide poisoning are drowsiness, possible nausea and then loss of consciousness.

Tips to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning include keeping snow from obstructing the tailpipe of an idling car, something that can happen quickly in heavy, drifting snow. Keeping the heater fan running maintains a positive pressure inside the car so that air flows out rather than seeps into the car.

Resist the temptation to run the heater/air conditioner in recirculation mode (the button or knob is identified with a symbol of the outline of a car with a “u-turn” arrow). It may conserve heat but it can also keep carbon monoxide in the car.

Driving with “recirc” on will also cause the windows to mist over, making outward visibility difficult, and although fogged-over windows might have advantages at certain times, even that probably isn’t worth dying for. A casual chat certainly should not have cost the lives of three young women.

Do not sleep in a car with the engine running.

Your car’s exhaust system should also be kept in good working order. Your car’s engine should also be in top running condition. An out-of-tune car can produce more carbon monoxide. Make sure door seals, trunk seals and hatchback seals really do seal.

Keep your car in good working order. Keep the ventilation fan running. Keep the exhaust pipe clear of accumulating snow. Keep aware of the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. Keep alive. Carbon monoxide kills.

[Ski to Be]

I've turned on the motor for a few minutes to heat up then shut it down. I always check to make sure the tail pipe has plenty of ventilation. That is awful news. My heart goes out to the family & friends

[TBS]

^^^ Same here. They probably didn't think about snowfall covering the tail pipe.

So sad. Condolences to family and friends

[Mr. Sociable]

I've never slept in the car while the motor is running, never will. I hear too many stories like this.

[Jag]

What a shame.

It's one tragedy after another this season.

[Crystal_Mt_Dreamin]

Never slept in one with the car running, but have started every so often to warm up. Just keep a warm bag in the car these days though. Sad sad stuff.

[Ville]

Never needed to keep motor on with our gas prices and warm enough sleeping bag. Haven't even thought that this could happen.

[Pablo Escobar]

Never slept in one with the car running, but have started every so often to warm up. Just keep a warm bag in the car these days though. Sad sad stuff.

this is my technique as well. -10 tnf bag + pad in the back of the subie will keep me warm enough.

[mnflyfish]

I'm old enough to remember gas under a buck, and a road trip to ski for spring break that was one LONG safety meeting. Somewhere in NE we were all way too smoked to continue driving so we pulled over and slept for a while. It was cold, and like I said weren't all there mentally, so we left 'er running. There have been a few overnights where I'd wake up cold and blast the heat for a while, then shut it off and go back to sleep but those nights I was with it enough to check and make sure everything was clear before starting it back up. So I'm in the catagory of yes I have.

Jay

[IrieRon]

Wow. That's terrible. I slept in my car with the engine running during a snowstorm on a ski trip to Colorado when I was 17. My friend chewed me out the next day when I told him. I had no idea prior to that.

[13]

I have before, but not recently. I keep a 0 deg sleeping bag in my trunk at all times.

Normally the heat of the tailpipe/exhaust is enough to melt the snow but if it's nuking, all bets are off.

[Ottime]

catalytic tent heaters are they way to go.

Sad news...

[72Twenty]

Never slept in one with the car running, but have started every so often to warm up. Just keep a warm bag in the car these days though. Sad sad stuff.

Same here, although I voted 'yes' in the poll, not really thinking about it until after I clicked it. I have slept int he car many times, and I do wake up and start the engine from time to time to warm up, but never leave it running. When I voted yes, I was thinking, yes I have slept in my vehicle and yes I have started the engine while in it, but no I have never let it run too long or all night. Also, even when it is really cold I used to crack one of the windows for ventilation.

[reganized]

I slept in the car a few weeks ago, I let the car run until it was smoking hot inside (15 mins) and then turned it off and put a few jackets over me. I was fine.

I always leave a window open regardles even with the engine off.

[ArmadaBC]

I've overnighted it in the car a lot and unless I've forgotten my bag its nice and cozy even with the window cracked.

I drive a pos Hyundai, she's a beast and has never let me down but the back hatch leaks air from the outside like crazy, one morning I woke up and there was an inch of snow across the hatch area inside the car.

[Catdaddyxx]

catalytic tent heaters are they way to go.

Careful with those too. A couple months ago at an auto auction/ swap meet in Chickasha Oklahoma two guys shut themselves in a cargo trailer with that kind of heater. Same result. Granted it was not a smart thing to do.

I've slept in my truck on several occations hunting, but never for skiing. Then again. that pipe is a long ways from my cab. (no camper shell) Always crack a window.

Had a large ice storm three years ago and was without power or heat for a week. Only heat and power (power inverter) I had was my truck.

[buckethead]

damn, that's awful news.

i've slept in the car, and turned on the engine intermittently...this wasn't a planned event, so didn't have a sleeping bag.

i woke up when i heard the first car enter the lot - he wasn't gonna get my first chair! - and realized i'd fallen asleep for several hours during the last quick engine run.

it was very hot inside, and all the snow had melted off the car.
i was in the middle of the lot, so luckily no snowpiles were there to block my pipe. had i been backed up to a snowbank, things could have gone very badly. i'm lucky i didn't even damage my engine.

thoughts going out to the friends and family of the fallen car campers