University Student in Washington State Dead, Two Others Hospitalized After Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

A Washington state college housing unit was being investigated Wednesday to find the source of a suspected carbon monoxide leak that left a 21-year-old student dead and two others injured.

Jonathan Rodriguez of DuPont, Washington, died Monday in the apparent poisoning at Evergreen State College in Olympia, the state capital.

A student residence manager first realized something was wrong when they couldn't contact the students inside the on-campus modular home.

An Evergreen police officer broke down the door at around 8:30 p.m. that evening and began performing CPR on the students, KOMO News reported.

That officer and two other students had to be hospitalized. Rodriguez couldn't be resuscitated.

Evergreen spokesperson Farra Layne Hayes told the Associated Press an alarm company had responded to carbon monoxide alarms at the university earlier that day, but she couldn't confirm whether they had gone off in the same spot as the suspected poisoning.

Neighbor Kris Pennington, an Evergreen senior who saw one of the students being taken out of the apartment on a stretcher, told KOMO the alarms frequently go off.

“From what I’m aware of, the only source of carbon monoxide would be the water heaters,” Pennington said.

Some 200 students held a vigil on Wednesday to honor Rodriguez. They described him as an artist who had a good sense of humor and who dreamed of one day creating video games, Seattle station KING-TV reported.

"He was always in the front," faculty member Paul Pham said. "He rarely got discouraged."

Many students demanded transparency from the school regarding the suspected leak and expressed concerns about sleeping in their own dorms.

"This is a tragedy, and we grieve for our students and families," Evergreen President John Carmichael said in a statement. "The safety of students, staff and faculty remain Evergreen's top priority."

The officer and one of the students have since been released, while the other student remains hospitalized, Washington State Police told KING-TV on Wednesday.

Carbon monoxide can be difficult to track because it's colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Unintentional poisonings kill more than 400 Americans each year, according to the CDC.

People exposed to carbon monoxide may experience headaches, confusion, vomiting, and other "flu-like" symptoms, although those who are drunk or sleeping are at risk of dying even before encountering any symptoms, per the CDC.