Carbon monoxide kills former Bay Stater on Fla. vacation

By Stacey Hart
The Boston Herald
Copyright 2007 Boston Herald Inc.
 
At his grandmother's death in 2001 Thomas Lueders said he wanted to have a comedian at his funeral, so friends and family would laugh instead of cry.

His family could not honor that request after his death last week, but want to remember the 26-year-old as a happy young man.

"We have a lot of good things to remember about Tom," said Richard Lueders, Thomas' father, during a eulogy on Tuesday.

Thomas Lueders died two days after Christmas while vacationing with his father in Key West, Fla.

He died from carbon monoxide poisoning in the hotel he was staying at. His father, who lives in Michigan, was found unconscious in the same room, but was treated and released from a Key West hospital.

Thomas spent many of his school-age years in Sudbury before moving to Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. during his junior year of high school.

The investigation into Thomas' death at the Doubletree Grand Key Resort in Key West continues and most recently the city's building department revoked the hotel's certificate of occupancy forcing it to close, according to the fire department's Web site.

The source of the carbon monoxide appears to be a boiler that was adjacent to the room Thomas and Richard Lueders stayed in, according to the fire department.

The family is urging everyone to make sure they have carbon monoxide detectors in their homes.

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