Overview
- Officers found a 57-year-old man and a dog dead inside the parked van around 9:30 a.m. Sunday on 65th Avenue near Parsons Boulevard, with a 73-year-old man unconscious outside and later hospitalized in stable condition.
- Family and local reports identified the deceased as Dr. Ashraf Hussein, while the surviving van owner was identified as Garo Alexanian.
- A friend said Alexanian believes he and Hussein collapsed from carbon monoxide while finishing a surgery late Saturday, after snow piled near the vehicle blocked the generator’s exhaust.
- The NYPD and medical examiner are awaiting autopsy results as they examine the roles of the generator, ventilation and a snow-packed exhaust in the deaths.
- Neighbors described the Low Cost Vet Mobile as a community lifeline offering affordable care, and one neighbor said Alexanian told rescuers he had been trapped for about four hours.