Pregnant Teen Dies of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Trailer

A 19-year-old pregnant woman died of carbon monoxide poisoning while sleeping in her trailer in Houston, US. Apparently fumes from a generator had seeped in.

Four other females, aged 13 to 19, were taken to area hospitals and are recovering from carbon monoxide poisoning, officials said Monday.

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The pregnant woman, Glenda Pinkney, was discovered shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday in the trailer at a Waller County camp site being used by the Prairie View Trail Ride Group, the Houston Chronicle reported. The child the woman was carrying did not survive, Waller County sheriff's officials said.

Witnesses described a frantic scene as friends and family members struggled to pull Pinkney to safety.

But it was too late. The teen was pronounced dead after being rushed to a hospital.

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The trail rides are a signature tradition of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo today. More than 4,000 riders saddle up each February to relive the Old West as part of 13 trail rides leading to the Houston Show.

Trail riding is riding outdoors on natural trails and roads as opposed to riding in an enclosed area such as a riding arena. The term may encompass those who travel on horses, on mountain bikes, or on motorcycles and other motorized all-terrain vehicles.

Pinkney’s death was the third carbon monoxide fatality in recent years among trail ride groups whose annual journeys end in Houston on the eve of the Houston Show. In 2002, Michael Culpepper, 18, of DeKalb was apparently overcome by exhaust fumes from a gasoline generator powering an electric heater in a horse trailer.

Pinkney was sleeping in the rear of the trailer on a lower bunk bed and had been the first to go to bed.

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Officials said a 7.8-horsepower generator was mounted on a rear platform of the motor home, a 1982 model that had a current registration.

Generally generators are placed several yards away from a motor it is powering, but the camping area was crowded and apparently it could not be moved.

Sheriff’s officials said they are continuing their investigation but do not expect to file criminal charges.

Source-Medindia
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