Melissa Hoskins believed that her grandmother, Pauline Mathews, 90 died of natural causes Dec. 18. But the family learned on New Year’s Eve the family matriarch died in a tragic accident.
Hoskins said she never believed investigators that it was health related. She said Mathews’ car was out of gas and the battery was dead. They said Mathews was running errands and got side tracked leaving the car running in the garage.
“She noticed she had to write out some more Christmas cards, got distracted, sat down, forgot she had run in to exchange a gift and left the car running,” Hoskins said.
Hoskins takes comfort knowing how her grandmother died, and also knowing that she died peacefully. But the pain of losing the vibrant, still healthy 90-year-old is extremely difficult.
“We realized she was so healthy and taken away from us before she should have been,” Hoskins said. “She never had a sick day in her life.”
Hoskins urges all families to buy carbon monoxide detectors and install them in their homes. She believes it could’ve saved her grandma’s life.
“She would have heard that high pitch sound and it would have alarmed her, and instead she just started to get sleepy. We found her on the couch slumped over,” Hoskins said.
Hoskins said her grandma was a wonderful person and strong willed. When times get tough she will always think, “What would grandma do?”
“Now, when I wonder how am I going to handle something, I think about how would grandma,” Hoskins said.
You can find resources on carbon monoxide poisoning and where to place detectors here.
