Two children freeze to death in van parked at Detroit casino, police say

Detroit city officials are pondering what policy changes to make to avoid another horrible tragedy after two children were found dead in the parking lot of a casino.

The children, ages 2 and 9 years old, were found dead on Monday by their mother, Tateona Williams. The vehicle had run out of gas on a day when the temperature fell to lethal levels.

'We have to make sure that we do everything possible to make sure that this doesn't happen again.'

Williams said she did everything she could to protect her children. They had been living in the van for several months.

"Everybody who knows me knows that I worship the ground that those kids walked on," she said.

She said that she tried to wake up her 9-year-old for school but realized that he wasn't breathing.

"My son wasn't moving. I kept saying, 'Get up. Please get up. Don't do this to me,'" she told WXYZ-TV.

She said she gave him CPR before rushing him to the hospital. Then they realized her 2-year-old daughter had also stopped breathing.

"They brought her in right after they pronounced him dead," Williams said. "And they said she wasn't breathing. And they pronounced her dead too. I asked everybody for help. I called out of state. I called cities I didn't know."

A medical examiner will determine the official cause of death.

Police said there were a few blankets in the car to help the children keep warm. Three other children were living in the van. Authorities are investigating the incident and may press criminal charges against the mother.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan commented on the tragedy.

"We have to make sure that we do everything possible to make sure that this doesn't happen again," said Duggan. "I'm not trying to talk about an individual employee. I'm talking about the system as a whole. Are we doing everything to make sure people in the city know how to access this critical care?"

Williams' cousin has set up a GoFundMe account to help her, and she addressed some of the criticism Williams was already getting.

"So before you judge, pray for her and her strength," she wrote. "Then look in the mirror because she ain’t do nothing anyone else would not have done. She loved, protected, and did all she could to keep her babies safe … ON HER OWN!"

Video from the scene can be viewed on the news report from WJBK-TV on YouTube.

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