Cold Contributes To Death Of Man, 59, On Northwest Side
(CBS) -- A 59-year-old man has become second person in the city of Chicago whose death is being blamed, at least in part, on exposure to the current cold snap.
Police say the man was out late Wednesday night with a friend after he slipped, fell and banged his head.
He did not pass out immediately, but the friend told police that when the man fell asleep in the loading dock of a building undergoing renovation at 3039 West Fullerton, he never woke up.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's office says the man was intoxicated, had bronchial asthma and that exposure to the bitter cold during the overnight hours contributed to his death.
Police and the ME's Office consider the death an accident.
He's the second to die from cold exposure during the string of below-freezing days that has hit Chicago for the past week – and the sixth since October.