Fund open for victim’s daughters

A trust fund has been established for three young girls whose mother died Saturday of carbon monoxide poisoning in a Spokane Valley garage

“They’re great little kids,” said their great-grandfather, Jerry Snow. “They’re going to have a tough row to hoe here.”

Snow said it appears his daughter, Spokane resident Nancy Brown, will be granted permanent custody of the children, “but in order for her to keep working and care for three young children is quite a job.”

The trust fund at the Numerica Credit Union will benefit Brittany Adams, 8; Aundrea Adams, 5; and Rebekah Adams, 4.

“Their mother, Danielle, was always really concerned about them and wanted everything to be correct, and it was a tough job alone,” Snow said.

The children’s father was in jail when their mother, 28-year-old Danielle L. Brown-Bailey, died.

It was Brittany who found Brown-Bailey and Travis William Johnson, 32, dead in the cab of a 1967 Ford pickup parked in the garage at 12918 E. 16th Ave. The girl had just celebrated her eighth birthday.

Snow said authorities told the family it appeared Brown-Bailey and Johnson accidentally asphyxiated themselves.

Cpl. Dave Reagan, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said Monday that autopsies confirmed that the victims died of carbon monoxide poisoning. He said blood tests haven’t been completed. They could show whether drugs – a small amount of methamphetamine was found in the pickup – contributed to the deaths.

The pickup’s ignition key was turned on, but the engine wasn’t running when emergency workers arrived.

Reagan said the garage had been used for painting vehicles, but he wasn’t aware of any evidence that a paint job was in progress when Brown-Bailey and Johnson died. He noted that the pickup in which the victims were found had no tailpipe, so carbon monoxide from the exhaust would have been concentrated near the cab.

The circumstances of the apparent accident remain under investigation, Reagan said.

Snow asked donors to give their names and addresses so family members can send thank-you cards.