title: A death in a stationary vehicle whilst idling: unusual carbon monoxide poisoning by exhaust gases.
abstract: In this paper, we describe an autopsy case in which death was due to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning occurring in a stationary vehicle idling in an open space. To investigate the source of the fatal fumes, the death scene situation was reconstructed using the vehicle. Exhaust gases were found to invade the interior through the floor from a defective exhaust system. CO gas was detected while idling and the level in the cabin gradually rose to 1.5% over a 2-h period. Since the 8-year-old motor vehicle seemed to have been defective for some months, it was concluded that stationary idling overnight caused an accumulation of toxic gases in the interior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Yamagata University School of Medicine, 2-2-2 Iida-nishi, Yamagata 990-9585, Japan. mosawa@med.id.yamagata-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Motoki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Osawa
authors.forename: Hidekazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Horiuchi
authors.forename: Koutaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tada
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harada
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents; D000328:Adult; D001336:Automobiles; D002249:Carbon Monoxide Poisoning / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002263:Carboxyhemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D002263:Carboxyhemoglobin