EAST BLOOMFIELD, N.Y. (AP) - Less than a week apart, two young men have died of asphyxiation by intentionally inhaling toxic mixes of household chemicals while seated in cars in upstate New York.
Authorities say each victim left a sign on the window warning emergency crews not to open the car doors because of toxic fumes.
A 21-year-old man was found dead Monday at a park in East Bloomfield, 20 miles southeast of Rochester. Sheriff Phil Povero said Tuesday an autopsy determined the victim, who lived in the region, intentionally mixed chemicals to create lethal hydrogen sulfide gas.
A 22-year-old man from Berkeley, Calif., also died by mixing similar chemicals after parking along a highway last week some 50 miles away in Cayuga County.
Authorities did not release the name of either man.
October 29, 2009:
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - A disturbing discovery in a Cayuga County village has investigators wondering why a 22-year old chose to take his own life, and why he chose the method he did.
It's called chemical suicide, a method popular in Japan and California. The 22-year old Californian who was living in Ithaca chose it to end his life inside his 1990 Toyota using a lethal combination of household chemicals. This is the first case of chemical suicide in the state of New York.
The man parked his car at Lakeview Cemetery in the village of Cayuga Tuesday. The next morning, someone called it in as suspicious.
The man may have taken his own life, but he protected those of rescue workers. He didn’t leave a note explaining why he did it, but on each window, he posted a warning sign.
October 28, 2009:
Chemical suicide causes haz-mat scare
Cayuga (WSYR-TV) – Cayuga County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the apparent suicide of a 22-year-old California man in the Village of Cayuga.
Deputies say he used a mixture of hazardous chemicals to take his own life in a car parked outside a cemetery, which led a hazardous materials crew to respond to the scene.
Deputies say the 911 center got a call at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday of a suspicious vehicle parked in front of Lakeview Cemetery on Lake Street in the Village of Cayuga.
The car had signs in the windows warning others that hazardous materials were inside.
Rescue crews pulled the man’s body from the car, and sent it to the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy.
The chemicals in the car were safely removed by the haz-mat crew.
Investigators discovered that the car had been parked there since about 7:00 Tuesday night. They’re not sure why the man was in New York.
The Sheriff’s office is not releasing the man’s name and also will not identify the chemicals found in the car, but Sheriff David Gould does say the chemicals are available over the counter, and that deputies are familiar with this type of suicide.
