An elderly Kenwood couple may be alive tonight only because of the quick action of a couple of watchful neighbors. John and Jane Moehring are recovering from carbon monoxide poisoning after their neighbors found them incapacitated in their home.
Local 12's Joe Webb shares some startling details.
This time of year, you would suspect a furnace that was fired up for the first time in months. That was not the case here. Firefighters say the Moehring's car was inadvertently left running in the garage and filled the house with fumes. That's the bad news. The good news is that good neighbors probably saved their lives.
Fortunately, for John and Jane Moehring, Dee Phillips and Mack McGrail live on either side of them. Last night, after not seeing the couple all day, McGrail got suspicious. He called Phillips, who has a key.
Mack McGrail, Neighbor: "John's habits were all broken. The wrong lights were on. Everything said there's a problem."
Dee Phillips, Neighbor: "So, we went inside and investigated, saw what the situation was and we both agreed to call 9-1-1 immediately."
That was about 7 Monday night. When emergency crews arrived, Jane Moehring was alert, but John Moehring was not. They were taken to Bethesda North in Montgomery. The neighbors last saw John Moehring driving his car early Sunday morning. They believe the couple had been overcome by fumes for nearly two days. A car in the garage was out of gas and the battery dead.
Chief B.J. Jetter, Sycamore Twp. Fire Dept. "This is not an uncommon thing. We've had another incident previously this month...same thing...where people pulled the car in the garage and left the car running accidentally and were overcome with carbon monoxide."
Regardless of the circumstances, the outcome was largely determined by caring neighbors.
"You may have saved two people's lives. I do believe that because they had evidently been there alone for all day Sunday and yesterday."
"It's a neighborhood. We don't live here by ourselves. You've got to watch."
Mack McGrail says John Moehring's Lexus had a remote start function. He thinks Moehring might have accidentally started the car. Both he and his wife are hard of hearing and McGrail says they might not have heard it running.
John and Jane Moehring are still recovering at Bethesda North Hospital. The hospital says they are in stable condition.
