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NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - North Charleston Police say tests performed on a vehicle in which five children were found unresponsive Thursday morning indicate a vehicle malfunction caused the children’s illness.
Police received a call at approximately 11:30 a.m. about children in a vehicle in the 2000 block of McMillan Avenue, police spokesman Harve Jacobs said. Bystanders and police officers performed life-saving measures until the North Charleston Fire Department and Charleston County EMS arrived, he said. The children were then rushed to an area hospital and at last check were said to be in stable condition.
“Investigators seized the vehicle and with the help of the North Charleston Fire Department tests were run on the vehicle and found that after only five minutes of the vehicle running, dangerous levels of carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide were present inside the vehicle,” Jacobs said.
MUSC spokesperson Carter Coyle confirmed the emergency department at the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital did receive five children as patients but could not confirm whether they were the five involved in the North Charleston incident. The hospital includes a Level 1 trauma center and emergency department, which means its pediatric ER specializes in providing emergency care for any serious injury or illness a child may experience, she said.
North Charleston Police have not released details about the children’s parents.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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