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INDIANAPOLIS STAR INDIANAPOLIS A 43-year-old Roma, Ill., man died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning Sunday in the recreational vehicle in which he and his family of race fans camped near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, stunning other race fans camping nearby. The man was found between noon and 1 p.m. and was pronounced dead at Wishard Memorial HospitaL. Three adults in his family were hospitalized at Wishard, two in serious condition and the third in stable condition. They had symptoms associated with carbon monoxide poisoning, according to Speedway police. The deceased man, whose name had not been released by late Sunday pending notification of family, was staying in an RV parked in the 2400 block of Georgetown Road with his family, said Lt. Trent Theobald of the Speedway Police Department. All the family members are adults. Frank Stallion, 42, Hickory, N.C., and his wife were in an RV next to the Illinois family. He said police told him they were looking at the possibility that his auxiliary generator contributed to the deadly carbon monoxide levels. He was distraught at that prospect. "I hope we had nothing to do with it.," he said. "We've come to the race for more than 20 years and run our generator, but this was the first time we've been so close to another trailer. Usually we are 15 feet apart. This time we were maybe 3 to 5 feet apart. No one thought anything of it." For previous races, he said, he parked his vehicle at other lots. Stallion said his trailer has a working carbon monoxide detector, but he didn't know whether the other trailer did. "It's just unfortunate. And it's worse because we still don't know what happened," he said. Dave Parker, Greensburg, Ind., and his family also stayed overnight Saturday in an RV parked near the Illinois family's vehicle. He said he met a man and a woman from the family Saturday night and chatted with them briefly. He said they seemed like very nice people. "It's horrible something like this could happen to such great people, especially at an event like this," he said. About 8:20 p.m. Sunday, the Illinois family's RV was being towed from the site, a private lot where about 10 such vehicles had been parked overnight. Many were still there, with residents barbecuing dinner and planning to leave this morning. Theobald said the Illinois family had planned to attend the race but never made it. "This is a big family from Illinois, and they came up (Saturday) and stayed overnight," said Theobald, who was at the hospital with the family Sunday evening. "The wife of the deceased . . . emotionally, she just lost her husband, when it was going to be a fun time for them," said Theobald. "She's trying to make contact with other family members." Police were investigating how the carbon monoxide poisoning occurred. "We do know that some of the appliances were used in the RV last night," Theobald said, adding that there were other RVs in the area that likely would have generated exhaust fumes. It would not be the first time race fans have succumbed to carbon monoxide in mobile homes near the track. Three Canadian men who drove here for the U.S. Grand Prix in September 2000 died of carbon monoxide poisoning near the Speedway. Authorities determined the gas came from an auxiliary generator in the RV the men were in and that there were no batteries in the vehicle's carbon monoxide detector.
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