Man Who Collapsed In Roseland Is County's 12th Cold Death
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A man who collapsed in the Far South Side Roseland neighborhood Monday is Cook County's 12th cold-related death of the season.
Ricardo White, 56, was taken to Roseland Community Hospital after he collapsed in the 10600 block of South Wentworth Avenue, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
White, of the 1000 block of West 105th Street, died at the hospital just after 10 a.m., authorities said.
An autopsy found he died of hypothermia due to cold exposure, according to the medical examiner's office. Hardened coronary arteries were listed as a contributing factor.
Chicago police are investigating the death, but had no additional details late Tuesday.
The previous cold-related deaths in Cook County this season include:
•Christopher Meyer, 43, was found dead in the 100 block of W. Illinois St., according to the medical examiner's office. An autopsy determined Meyer injured himself during a fall and then died from exposure to the cold. His home address was not known.
• An unidentified man in his 60s was found dead Feb. 7 in an abandoned building in the 5700 block of South LaSalle Street, police said. An autopsy on Friday found that he died of hypothermia and cold exposure, and his death was ruled an accident, according to the medical examiner's office.
• Lawrence Sviontek, 70, who was found unresponsive in the trailer he lived in the 1300 block of Rand Road in Des Plaines on January 20. Police said there wasn't any heat inside the trailer. An autopsy found that Sviontek died of hypothermia, caused by cold exposure, with alcoholism as a contributing factor, according to the medical examiner's office. The death was ruled an accident.
•Edwin Mason, 71, was found dead Jan. 17 in a vehicle parked at a Motel 6 in the 1500 block of Milwaukee Avenue in Glenview. An autopsy found he died of hypothermia, caused by cold exposure, with heart disease as a contributing factor.
• Jerzy Tarkowski, 60, found lying at the corner of Belmont and Central avenues about 1 a.m. on Jan. 4. An autopsy found he died of hypothermia brought on by cold exposure, with alcohol intoxication a contributing factor.
• Luis M. Escalante, 53, found in the 3200 block of Oakton Street in Skokie near a park at 3200 Oakton St. on Dec. 22. Escalante, of the 1800 block of West Farwell Avenue, died of cold exposure.
• Casimir Widarz, in his 60s, was found lying on the ground in the 4300 block of South Ashland Avenue on Dec. 21. The primary cause of death for Widarz, who was homeless, was heart disease with cold exposure listed as a factor.
• Thomas Grubb, 41, died from hypothermia and cold exposure on Dec. 9, according to county records. Grubb, a registered sex offender who was living on the street, was found near a UIC student center.
• Florence Hawkins, 83, was found dead at her home in the 8200 block of South Chappel Avenue on Nov. 27, the medical examiner's office said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
