Man found dead on Far South Side is season’s first cold death

A man found dead Wednesday afternoon in the West Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side is the first cold-related fatality of the season in Cook County.

Willie P. McCarns, 56, died at 1:20 p.m. Wednesday in the 1400 block of West 119th Street, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The low temperature on Wednesday was 46 degrees at O’Hare.

An autopsy found McCarns, whose home address was unknown, died of heart disease, according to the medical examiner’s office. Ethanol intoxication and cold exposure were listed as contributing causes, and his death was ruled an accident.

His death is thought to be the first cold-related fatality of the season, according to Sun-Times Wire records. Last year, the first cold-related death of the winter season was reported on Nov. 3. At least 15 cold-related deaths were reported last winter, according to the medical examiner’s office.