BYRON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A mother and her 16-year-old daughter were found dead inside a car in Byron Township on Tuesday from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Kentwood Wyoming Byron Center
Investigators: Car where mom and teen were killed could fill with gas in minutes
Nicole Moore had just driven in from Tennessee late Tuesday morning. She stayed in her car to avoid waking anyone up. Her daughter, Kyli Dodge, insisted on spending time with her mother in the vehicle.
"My sister just spoke up and said she wanted to be with mom, and my mom wanted her cuddles too. So it it hurts a lot," Jaydyn Dodge said.
Jaydyn is Moore's son and Kyli's brother. He said his mother and sister were found together inside the car, Nicole's arm around her daughter.
"I'm just glad that neither of them went alone and that they had somebody with them," Jaydyn said.
According to the sheriff's office, detectives and firefighters found the vehicle could fill with deadly levels of carbon monoxide if left running for just minutes. Detectives also found the car's floorboards and exhaust system were in poor condition.
Jaydyn said his mother had just bought the car she drove into town with. He hopes others will ensure there are no exhaust leaks in their vehicles.
"To know that when you buy a car off marketplace, make sure you get it looked at," Jaydyn said.
Jaydyn also wants to share the caring personalities of his mother and sister.
"[Kyli would] light up the room wherever she is. She wouldn't even have to know you. And you'd like, basically, like, wow," Jaydyn said. "What really scares me is forgetting their voices. The last conversation I had with my mom was she told me when she gets back in town she wanted to see me because she missed me."
Jaydyn's girlfriend, Riley, set up a GoFundMe to help the family.
Support for the family of Nicole Moore and Kyli Dodge
The threat of carbon monoxide poisoning remains a real concern even as the weather warms. While the danger is often associated with inside homes, vehicles can pose a threat that can be harder to mitigate.
"Our vehicles, it's totally different. And we often think of the carbon monoxide incident, like I said, in the cold weather months, but we don't often think about it when someone's just in a parking lot," explained Michael McLeieer president of E.S.C.A.P.E. INC. "So making sure that we're checking our vehicles, making sure our exhaust system is intact, maybe the next time we have that vehicle taken into the garage for an oil change, making sure the mechanics are looking at the undercarriage. Michigan is known for salt on the roadways. It's very corrosive, and exhaust systems are susceptible to those corrosive environments."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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