More on Gas-Leak Tragedy: Apparent Suicide Caused One of Two Deaths, Mountain View Police Say

The deaths of a father and son found Wednesday after a reported gas leak at an apartment in Mountain View appear to be the result of a suicide and an accident, Mountain View police said today.

Authorities found the chemical substances calcium sulfide and sulfuric acid in the apartment that created the byproducts sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas, police said.

The Santa Clara County medical examiner’s office today identified Lian Liu, 53, and his son William, 17, as those found dead Wednesday after a report of a strong gas odor at an apartment complex at 2025 California St. in Mountain View.

At 6:09 p.m. Wednesday, Mountain View police responded to a report of a strong odor of “rotten eggs” in the air around the apartment complex that officers thought smelled like natural gas, police said.

[Previous: Father, Son Found Dead At Gas-Leak Scene In Mountain View ID’d By Coroner.The man who died was the manager at the popular Milk Pail Market, and his son was 17.]

As police began evacuating people from 2025 and 2017 California St., four officers became overpowered by the fumes.

They were treated at the scene and released, according to police. People living at 2035 California St. were told to shelter in place while about 30 to 40 evacuees were transferred to a community center under the care of the American Red Cross throughout the rest of the evening and into Thursday, police said.

The Mountain View Fire Department and a hazardous materials team from the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety were summoned to the site to help clear the building at 2025 California St., according to police. PG&E crews also came to the scene and shut off the natural gas lines to the apartment building, police said.

Sunnyvale’s hazardous materials crew entered an apartment where they discovered the two bodies and the quantities of the chemicals, according to police.

Police spokeswoman Shino Tanaka said investigators concluded that one of the victims died by suicide and the other by accident, but officers are not revealing who killed themselves and who accidentally died.

[Previous: Evacuation Update: Mtn. View Fire Crews Investigating Possible Hazardous Materials Incident.]

Lian Liu, who went by the first name of James, was the manager of the popular Milk Pail Market in Mountain View and the brother-in-law of the market’s owner Steve Rasmussen, according to Kai Rasmussen, James’ niece who wrote a Facebook post Friday announcing Liu’s death.

Liu was “highly respected and brilliant,” Rasmussen wrote.

“His ability to negotiate and bargain with suppliers single-handedly enabled the Milk Pail to sell quality produce, fine cheeses and European goods at extraordinarily low prices,” she wrote. “James lived and breathed the Milk Pail,” she wrote. “He poured his heart into the business, and everything he did he did with honesty and integrity. In the world of retail, James’ genius was unparalleled.”

Employees at the Milk Pail Market, located at 2585 California St. in Mountain View, were not immediately available for comment today on the deaths.

--Bay City News

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