Tateona Williams has opened up about the circumstances surrounding how two of her children died, likely from freezing, while sheltering in a van inside a Detroit parking garage.
According to police, the incident occurred on February 10 on the ninth floor of the Hollywood Casino parking structure, where five children and two adults had been staying in the vehicle.
Williams, 29, revealed that her children, 9-year-old Darnell Currie Jr. and 2-year-old Amillah Currie, were the victims of the tragic incident in the Detroit parking garage. Williams’ mother, Yvette Goodman, 48, was also in the van, along with four of Williams’ children and one of Goodman’s.
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Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE, Williams was joined by Detroit Board of Police Commissioner Tamara Liberty Smith, who also directs Detroit Power Detroit Community Outreach, a transitional housing service Williams was referred to on Monday evening.
“The mother realized that her 9-year-old son wasn’t breathing,” said interim Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison at a press conference on Tuesday, Feb. 11. “Previous to that, she had already called a friend, another close relative, to help because with the vehicle not running.”
Bettison stated that when the mother noticed her 9-year-old son was not breathing, a friend who had arrived at the scene rushed the boy to the hospital.
While en route to the children’s hospital, Williams’ mother, who stayed behind, checked on the other children that were in the van and realized at some point that the 2-year-old wasn’t breathing, added Bettison, who said that once the friend returned, the entire family rushed off to the hospital.
Authorities were later informed by the hospital that both children had died. Williams told PEOPLE she woke up to find her son Darnell unresponsive, with fluid coming from his mouth, and rushed him to the hospital. Despite efforts, doctors were unable to save him.
She only realized something was wrong with her daughter, Amillah, when her mother ran into the hospital carrying the child.
“We do know that on that day and time the temperatures were below 32 degrees,” Bettison said. “Of course ultimately the medical examiner will determine the cause of death, but just on the surface right now it appears it was exposure to hypothermia.“
Bettison continued that they were investigating the deaths of the two children who likely froze inside the van where their family had been living for months. He added that the police have spoken with the children’s mother, while the three surviving children are now in the care of relatives.
He explained that the family had reportedly sought shelter in the Hollywood Casino parking garage for safety and restroom access. No arrests have been made as the investigation remains ongoing.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who spoke about the deaths of the two children, said the incident revealed the gap between available resources and access to them. He revealed that family shelter beds were available nearby but noted that services are ineffective if those in need don’t know how to access them.
He also stated that the family had reached out to the city’s homeless response team multiple times, with the last contact recorded on November 25, 2024.
Duggan stated that on November 25, the family informed the city’s homeless response team that they could no longer stay with another family and needed to find alternative housing.
“In the course of that conversation there was no resolution reached on where they would go,” said Duggan. “And one of the things when you call our homeless services folks is that if it’s an emergency situation, we send out one of these outreach workers….For whatever reason, this wasn’t deemed an emergency that caused an outreach worker to visit the family.”
He added that, based on what authorities could determine at the time, “the family never called back again for service,” nor did any member of the response team reach out to the family.
In her interview with PEOPLE, Williams said she continuously reached out to homeless services following the November 25 call for help.
“I kept calling. I called out of state, cities, different states. I asked Detroit for help,” Williams said. “And they still would say, when I called, they didn’t have no beds. But it took two [of] my kids to die… for them to want to help.”
Williams told PEOPLE that after calling Detroit’s Homeless Services on November 25, she was informed no family rooms were available and was promised a follow-up that never came.
Smith noted that the family’s situation required “special accommodations,” which complicated shelter placement.
Williams and her family are now staying at Detroit Power Detroit Community Outreach.
Meanwhile, Mayor Duggan has ordered a review of the case, tasking Deputy Mayor Melia Howard and Housing Director Julie Schneider with delivering findings within two weeks.
