Two Fort Lewis College students who were found unconscious in a vehicle last year have been identified.
Sisters Shavon Nez, 18, and Kylah Nez, 19, of Thoreau, New Mexico, died from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the La Plata County Coroner’s Office and an email sent last week to FLC students by Jeff Dupont, dean of student engagement.
“Regrettably, the running car had an unknown carbon monoxide leak which resulted in the accumulation of a devastating amount of carbon monoxide within the enclosed space,” Dupont told students in the email, which was sent Thursday.
Shavon and Kylah Nez were the first in their families to attend college, their mother, Dana Juan, told The Durango Herald.
“They're both bright and talented,” Juan said. “... They were both outgoing. They loved to laugh. They loved life. They loved family.”
The two sisters were found the night of Oct. 11 in a car parked on campus.
Kylah Nez was pronounced dead soon after being found, but her sister Shavon Nez was taken to Mercy Hospital in critical condition where she died about a week later, La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith said.
Investigators worked with a fire department in Crownpoint, New Mexico, that confirmed a carbon monoxide leak inside the car, Smith said.
The fire department put a carbon monoxide detector inside the car with the heater turned on, drawing air from the outside. In less than three minutes, the detector read 441 parts per million inside the vehicle, according to a report from the fire department.
Authorities at first thought a toxic substance might have played a role in the women’s deaths, but a toxicology report ruled out drugs or alcohol as playing a role, Smith said. A second blood test was done to look for evidence of carbon monoxide poisoning, which showed positive signs, she said.
Juan said authorities at first suspected her daughters overdosed on fentanyl, but she insisted that couldn’t be right.
“I told them, ‘No, my girls know better than that,’” she said. “... I just want to make sure their name is cleared from all that.”
It was the second carbon monoxide death in about four months in La Plata County, Smith said.
Eric Barnes, 50, was found dead Feb. 15 at his home in Bayfield. The home recently caught fire, and he was living without heat or electricity, Smith said. He was using a cooking pot on a grill of some kind that ended up filling the house with carbon monoxide, she said.
In his email to students on Thursday, Dupont said he was following up on an email sent in October by FLC President Tom Stritikus.
Stritikus’ email notified students of the deaths, but circumstances surrounding the deaths were unknown at the time, Dupont said.
“In the months since, authorities conducted a thorough investigation and recently notified FLC of their findings,” Dupont wrote. “With transparency and care in mind, I’m sharing this update with our campus community so that we may process this together and honor the memory of these students.”
Kylah Nez was a sophomore in college who wanted to become a registered nurse, but then switched to wanting to become a veterinarian, Juan said. Shavon Nez was a freshman who wanted to become an artist, but then switched her focus to criminal justice, she said.
Kylah and Shavon Nez, who were Navajo, grew up in Thoreau, New Mexico. Juan and their father, Lucas Nez, told them they could be anything and go on to do anything they set their minds to doing.
“Me and my husband we always inspired them to do something with their lives, to become something,” Juan said. “Not a lot of natives go out in the world and become something.”
Kylah visited FLC and “fell in love” with the campus and said she wanted to attend.
“I told her whatever it takes, even it’s to the last dollar in my pocket, I’ll support your goal,” Juan said. “I worked my butt off. I helped her with whatever she needed, whatever she wanted.”
Shavon Nez wasn’t planning to attend college, but she was inspired by her sister, especially after spending a weekend with her sister at FLC.
“She showed her the school, her dorm, her friends, her teachers, and it inspired Shavon to go up there,” Juan said.
Juan said her daughters have also inspired their brothers, Trevor Nez, 8, and Deshawn Nez, 17, to go to college, as well as other children from Thoreau.
“Some of them are even going to school up there because of their experience,” Juan said.
shane@durangoherald.com
