Carbon monoxide deaths ruled accidental

By Dan Hardy, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: May 02, 2011

Although the Delaware County Medical Examiner's Office has ruled "accidental" Friday's deaths of two Upper Darby men from carbon monoxide poisoning in their second-floor apartments, criminal charges are in order, Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said Sunday.

He acknowledged that those responsible for using a generator to run freezers at the Smart International Grocery Store at 7301 West Chester Pike, just below the apartments where the men died, had not intended to kill anyone. But a label on the generator read: "Use of this generator indoors can kill you in minutes" and "Generator exhaust contains carbon monoxide," Chitwood said.

"I feel very strongly about it," he said.

The Delaware County District Attorney's Office will decide whether to bring charges. They could include reckless endangerment, causing or risking a catastrophe, and manslaughter, Chitwood said.

The generator was used after Peco Energy shut off electricity to the store Wednesday because the account was in arrears. The utility acted after repeated warnings, spokesman Ben Armstrong said, and although the customer made the "required payment" Wednesday, restoring power typically takes 24 to 72 hours.

Ernesto "Juan" Huerta, 57, and Stephen Butler, 50, were found dead about 7:40 a.m., about 12 hours after the generator had been left running.

After the electricity was shut off, an employee went to a Home Depot on Baltimore Pike and leased the generator, Chitwood said Friday.

Contact staff writer Dan Hardy

at 215-854-2612 or dhardy@phillynews.com.