After 2 brothers tragically die trying to stay warm, SMECO crews work to restore power

BRANDYWINE, Md. (7News) — Grieving relatives say with no power in their house for more than 24 hours brothers Carlos and Luis Carranza had gotten so cold they made a tragic mistake.

They set up a generator in their living room to power space heaters. Last night they were found dead in the home on Springfield Road in Brandywine.

Authorities suspect carbon monoxide poisoning.

The victim’s uncle spoke to 7 News outside the home this morning.

“He come back to home and try to sleep and he just died,” says Nelson Hererra, ”It’s really hard.”

Across Southern Maryland, power outages linger. 7News spotting a dramatic example of why.

In a forest where normal utility trucks can’t go, a tree was down on a power line. A special bulldozer-like machine was needed to make repairs.

SMECO the power company here has about 170,000 total customers. Monday 45,000 of them were without power.

Wednesday afternoon that count is below 5,000 but company spokesman Tom Dennison says it won’t be until Thursday evening that they get to everybody.

“The combination of the heavy, wet snow weighing down tree branches has been the primary culprit,” says Dennison, “We care about getting the service back on and we’re getting to it as quick as we can.”