A 23-year-old Honduran immigrant died Monday night in Fort Worth after his electricity went out and he used a generator inside his home to try to keep his wife and young son warm, his family said.
It happened Monday night in the 4800 block of Avenue G.
Kevin Ayala, his wife and their 4-year-old son were inside, desperate to stay warm.
"The house was really cold,” friend Edan Perez said.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
So Ayala had an idea, a way for him and his family to survive in the freezing temperatures.
"To keep the house warm, he put that generator inside the kitchen,” Perez said.
They couldn't smell anything or see anything and didn't even realize there was a problem.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
But the house quickly filled with carbon monoxide.
About an hour after connecting the generator, his wife Katherin Padilla said they started to feel tired and went to sleep.
A friend happened to stop by and found them passed out.
"It was a bad situation,” Perez said. “It was bad, bad, bad."
Ayala’s wife and son were rushed to the hospital and recovered.
But Ayala – a construction worker and an immigrant from Honduras who came to Fort Worth looking for the American dream -- didn't make it.
"He was a very friendly person,” his wife said. “A good person and a hard worker.”
"It's sad because he was only 23 years old and he passed away,” his cousin Pamela Segovia said. “But we just have to stay strong and be here for our family."
His family hopes his death serves as a lesson for everyone about the dangers of carbon monoxide.
"That's a mistake, really a mistake,” Perez said.
Even if you're desperate to stay warm, they said, don't take any chances.
"That's what happened with my friend,” Perez said. “He tried to keep his family warm, and that's what happened."
Ayala leaves his son and wife, who's pregnant with their second child.
