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SILENT KILLER: Keyless ignitions linked to more than 2 dozen carbon monoxide deaths

The convenience comes at a high cost as people are accidentally leaving their engines running.

Jennifer Titus

10News Staff

Published: 4:00 PM EST November 9, 2018
Updated: 4:16 PM EST January 7, 2019

Key fobs have changed the way we start our cars. Instead of fumbling around for keys, you just hit the start button. But that convenience can come at a cost because just as easy as it is to start your car it’s just as easy to forget to turn it off with the key fob in hand.

With the car still running and the garage door shut, that’s when it becomes a silent killer.

An average of 430 people die each year in the U.S. from carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Doug Schaub’s 91-year-old father Fred, unfortunately, is part of that sad statistic.

But he says his father’s death should’ve been prevented.

It was Aug, 3 when Fred, who loved playing cards, didn’t show up for his friend’s poker game.

“I said let me try his home phone. No answer. Then I knew something was wrong. Something was dead wrong,” says Doug Schaub, Fred’s son.

After having no luck reaching his dad, his brother called the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office for a wellness check.

“That’s when my life changed forever,” says Schaub.

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