Woman, Disabled Son Die in Snow Covered Car After Trying to Reach Police

[ificandream]

Source: Newsweek

Published Feb 21, 2026 at 03:51 PM EST

An elderly homeless woman and her disabled son were found dead inside a snow-covered car in a Providence, Rhode Island, parking lot on February 11—nearly two weeks after a desperate call for help went unanswered, according to local news station WPRI.

Providence police identified the victims as 75-year-old Irina Kozak and her 49-year-old son, Stanislaw Kozak. The pair had been living out of their white Kia Sorento for approximately a year. Their deaths were ruled weather-related, with underlying health conditions also cited as contributing factors, according to authorities.

(snip)

According to WPRI, the initial call to Providence police came the evening of January 28 when temperatures had plunged to single digits—just three days after a storm buried the city under 20 inches of snow.

The caller was not Irina Kozak herself, but a Russian interpreter, the English-speaking boyfriend of a Russian-speaking friend Kozak had contacted. He had first gone to a police department in another town where officers directed him to call Providence police.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/woman-disabled-son-die-in-snow-covered-car-after-trying-to-reach-police-11561541

[hlthe2b]

1. Unbelievably sad...

[yellow dahlia]

2. It is tragic.

And emblematic of the topsy turvy economy in this country.

More for the billionaires, while people freeze to death in their cars.

Sad and angry don't begin to cover it.

[UpInArms]

3. A bit more

The caller could only say the car was located "at a park near Miriam," referring to Miriam Hospital in Providence. Officers searched the surrounding area, including nearby Lippitt Park, but came up empty. About an hour after the call, the log noted officers had "checked parks in area—Miriam Hosp—unable to locate."

The Kozaks were ultimately found on February 11 in a parking lot directly adjacent to the hospital. Police said they later notified a relative in Germany via WhatsApp.

[Igel]

18. That's a miscommunication there.

In Russian, "park" is just "park." (From French.)

Parking lot is most commonly "parkovka".

If the guy was a Russian speaker, he may have gotten it wrong; if an English speaker, may have misunderstood the original. Or maybe the woman didn't utter clearly or the interpreter didn't or the cops just misunderstood and couldn't clarify.

That's one thing. But the parking lot (google maps shows) really is adjacent to the hospital--and might be where you'd go if you needed to go to the hospital during the snowfall or afterwards. Meaning I'd assume they did the Rochester, NY thing and plowed where they could and damn the cars that are there, they get buried and it's hard to tell the car from a snow pile.

Dunno. But, yes, tragic.

[UpInArms]

19. Just tragic

So close and no help

[dalton99a]

22. +1

[LeftInTX]

31. We would hope that dispatch would have called the caller back.

Especially if there was translation issues! Certainly, they could have found someone who spoke their language. Police should have gone to the caller's home. Translation is easier in person than on a phone.

[Kali]

4. unbelievably sad

but thank goodness the 1% are saving some pennies on their taxes and we are getting a big gold plated room of balls

[SuzyandPuffpuff]

5. Wow

How utterly utterly sad. I hope they held each other til the end... together. What a sad state of affairs to allow our fellow man to die so tragically and to b homeless. That's bullshit.

[LisaL]

11. It appears son died first. She was then trapped in the car for quite some time.

From what is being reported, she called a friend for help. Friend contacted the police, but police didn't find the car. Their bodies were found weeks later. I don't think she had access to food and water during that time.
It's a horrific story.

[pat_k]

20. Horrifying and heartbreaking.

Last edited Sun Feb 22, 2026, 02:09 AM - Edit history (1)

When I read that the son was dead before the call was made, I was horrified.

The heartbreak is living in a country that claims to be civilized, but can't manage to ensure that every person we share this nation with has access to the bare minimum needed for a semblance of human dignity.

Homelessness in America is an immoral and intolerable condition that we have collectively grown far too comfortable with tolerating. Are we a nation devoid of conscience? Because it is something we can't "fix" as individuals, we throw up our hands in helplessness?

How do we build the collective will to make sure those who benefit the most from the interplay of the public and private sectors in this thing we call the "American economy" also make the substantial contributions necessary to provide basic housing to all and establish publicly-funded programs that have the capacity to offer effective treatment and support services to every person struggling with mental illness or addiction?

[Evolve Dammit]

6. tragic

[Borogove]

7. A kind and just society would not tolerate this.

[Ilsa]

8. So very sad. I suspect that if she was running the car

to stay warm, the deep snow might have covered her exhaust. They may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

[LisaL]

10. I don't think they died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Sounds like she was trapped in the car for quite some time before dying. Starvation and dehydration, maybe?

[Sweet Rosie Red]

9. A friend once told me

As an aging woman who was completely disabled when young, right to life, liberty, happiness and effective medical care is only guaranteed while Mr Sweet is alive. After that income is gone, my choices will be

A) understaffed nursing home
B) the streets
C) suicide.

I choose C. I’m sure if one of my children still needed me, I would choose to live like that brave lady did. My children are having a hard enough time caring for their families in Trumps economy. I wouldn’t dream of imposing on them.

Thank you party of Family Values!

[Skittles]

13. always talk to us, Sweet Rosie Red

someone is always here on DU

[Midnight Writer]

12. But our billionaires are OK, right?

Last edited Sat Feb 21, 2026, 08:11 PM - Edit history (1)

They are the ones that really count. The rest of us should be grateful for the opportunity to sacrifice ourselves for their comfort.

I sure hope incidents like this don't cause their taxes to go up.

[Warpy]

14. Richest country in the world, my flabby old ass

This is so sad and so unnecessary.

If it weren't for the hoarding class and the assholes who enable them throughout our joke of a government, we might have adequate housing for people living on the margins, especially our disabled and elderly.

[Alice Kramden]

16. That's exactly it - "the hoarding class," as you put it

The rich imagine they are envied, but they really are reviled and to be pitied for their absence of human compassion

[surrealAmerican]

15. They had been living in the car for a year.

This is a long-term term failure of our country to address the needs of these people.

[angrychair]

17. America the Beautiful

Where our elders and disabled freeze to death in the streets and billionaires rape and eat our children.

I'm just full of optimism and hope for our country's future.

[Javaman]

21. " Their deaths were ruled weather-related"

Nope. Negligence by the city is the cause. “Weather related” was just the symptom

[NewEnglandAutumn]

25. There are multiple issues here

homelessness, language barrier, the fact the person who called on their behalf was not with them so the call could be traced, the person who called said they were in a nearby park when they were actually in one of the hospital parking lots etc.

I am left wondering if it may have been a deliberate choice on their part. Had they parked literally anywhere else in the area around the hospital security and or the police would have found them. Our societies social safety nets are breaking under the pressure and it is only getting worse.

There is another huge storm that is going to impact the northeast in the next day or two and it is heartbreaking to know that there will be other deaths because being a vulnerable person in bad weather is too damn dangerous. This is not what a civilized society looks like.

[LeftInTX]

30. Oh, the call couldn't be traced. However, I wonder if dispatch called the caller back?

[dalton99a]

23. Meanwhile, $45 billion for ICE concentration camps, $10 billion for Trump's Board of Peace, etc. etc.

[Greybnk48]

24. Sometimes I hate this country. n/t

[RockRaven]

26. A pox on our society for failing those in need once again.

[rampartd]

27. if the cops had found them, what would they have done?

most likely told her to "move on you can't park here can't you read the signs?".

[OldBaldy1701E]

29. 75 years old and a disabled son?

Oh yeah, they didn't want them to survive. As far as the oligarchy is concerned, they are a waste of resources that the rich could have.

All by design.

[electric_blue68]

32. Terrible tragedy!

Might have been preventable.

If we had the will basic decent housing could be built, with rental support.
Better mental health, and substance abuse care in areas that need it. And safer shelters!

But I've also seen some a bit of innovative one person night shelters in Google articles, at least keeping unhoused people safe. Again the will to build them.
Sigh.