Family traveling through New Madrid County recover from carbon monoxide poisoning

NEW MADRID COUNTY, Mo. (KFVS) - A family traveling on Interstate 55 from Texas had their trip stopped in its tracks because of a poisonous gas.

According to New Madrid County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Chris Hensley, a vehicle carrying five children, two adults and a large dog were on the road for approximately seven hours on Sunday when they noticed they were starting to feel sick.

Hensley said the family stopped at the Loves Truck Stop at the Matthews exit after the five children became unresponsive.

When a deputy arrived on scene, they used a device to detect carbon monoxide, which showed levels of the odorless, colorless gas.

First responders rushed the family to a nearby hospital for treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning.

According to Sharon Urhan, Director of Marketing at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, the family has been released from the hospital and they “are fine.”

The dog was brought to the New Madrid County Sheriff’s Department for safe keeping, until the family members were released from the hospital.

Hensley urges drivers and travelers to make sure their vehicle is regularly maintained and repaired.

Matt Seyer, owner of Seyer’s Garage in Cape Girardeau, said that keeping up with car maintenance is crucial for safe travels.

“It’s really uncommon, but if you have a broken exhaust manifold or exhaust leak and it’s allowing that to come inside your vehicle it can kill you while you’re driving,” Seyer said. “So if you hear a loud noise in your automobile you might want to have it checked out by somebody because that could be a possibly sign of a leak.”

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