Carbon monoxide poisoning is what led to the tragic death of two children in a van at a Detroit casino parking garage last month, the Medical Examiner confirmed to the Scripps News Group.

Officials said 2-year-old A’Millah Currie and 9-year-old Darnell Currie, Jr.'s death was a result of carbon monoxide toxicity and the cause of death was ruled accidental.

The two children were living with their family in a van at the time while going through a period of homelessness. Their mother, Tateona Williams, had parked overnight in the garage at Hollywood Casino Hotel in Greektown on Feb. 10, and at some point, the van ran out of gas.

It was originally thought the children may have died from hypothermia. According to the National Weather Service, the temperatures in Detroit that night were in the high teens.

Watch: Mother talks after 2 kids died in Detroit casino parking garage

Williams told the Scripps News Group she tried waking them up but they were unresponsive.

Williams said she’s a certified nursing assistant and medical assistant and tried to perform CPR on her son, but it was too late. Both kids were pronounced dead at the hospital.

"I lost the one who made me a mother (and) I lost a 2-year-old. I'm dying inside. It hurts," Williams told Scripps News Group reporter Darren Cunningham. "I feel like my heart is breaking, and I have two more kids to live for."

The children's father, Darnell Currie Sr., also talked to the Scripps News Group about the incident — though he was not there at the time.

Watch: Father of kids who died in parking garage shares story

"I went to the gym. As soon as I got on a treadmill, she called saying 'can I make it to the hospital right now. They gone,'" said Currie. "I was hoping it was a sick joke, but it wasn't."

Williams said she had been living in her car for three months, along with her four kids, her mother and two teenage siblings. She was set to start a new job just days after the tragedy.

"I asked everybody for help. I called out of state, I called cities I didn't know, I called cities people asked me to call. I even asked Detroit — I've been on CAM list for the longest," Williams said. "Everybody now wants to help after I lost two kids? I've been asked for help."

She also said she reached out to Currie for help at some point with their children.

"I asked him, I said 'can you get your kids from me?' I said, 'I need help. You know I'm homeless. I done kept a room this long. I couldn't keep it no more,'" she said.

He claimed he didn't know that Williams was homeless.

"All she said was 'can I get 'em?' Can I get 'em, just to get 'em, and can I get 'em because y'all homeless? That's two different things," said Currie.

After their deaths, the City of Detroit set out to investigate its homeless response system. Deputy Mayor Melia Howard was tasked with investigating what happened in the tragedy.

Howard said during a news conference, “I’ve had more than 50 phone calls of people offering support for the Williams-Curry family with their homes and making sure that, again, that this never happens.”

At the news conference, Mayor Mike Duggan laid out a timeline of Williams' contact with the city's homeless services.

He said Williams first reached out to CAM, the city’s homeless helpline, in December of 2023 to ask for help. Duggan said Williams let CAM know that she and her children were about to lose housing.

Watch: Detroit mayor & other officials outline steps to address homelessness

The mayor said the family was offered temporary shelter, but Williams ended up finding other housing. He said the city’s homeless team then reached out to Williams in March, April, and May but got no response from her.

In the summer, Williams reached out for help again. She ended up staying with a friend.

On Nov. 25, according to Duggan, Williams made her last contact with the city, and the city didn't follow up with her.

“Ms. Williams called the CAM hotline and said, 'Where I have been staying in the summer and the fall, I don’t believe is going to be available. I don’t know where I’m going to go do,'" Duggan explained.

"But as you look at the records, the time of the call, the 'call take' worker put them in a class of somebody who was still housed but did indicate they expected to be unhoused within 14 days and did not send one of our outreach workers out to assess the situation," Duggan said.

Duggan said the city had set up an emergency shelter on Dec. 16, however that was never communicated to Williams.

To better respond to people’s needs, the city’s 7-point plan is as follows. A detailed explanation of the plan can be found at the city's website.

1. Require Site Visits for All Families with Minor Children.
2. Give Special Attention to Finding Families in Vehicles.
3. Expand HelpLine to 24 Hours.
4. Double Number of Drop-In Beds.
5. Expand Night Outreach Teams.
6. Continue Successful Use of Police Precincts as Havens for Safety & Referrals.
7. Expand Street Outreach & Education.

Howard said, “If you need assistance, we are really imploring you to reach out so that we can make these connections and ensure that no family ever has to go through this again.”

This story was originally published by the Scripps News Group in Detroit.