A man who died in Chicago on Saturday is the 45th death related to cold exposure this season in Cook County.
The 51-year-old was found on a sidewalk about 12:15 p.m. and brought to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Chicago police said.
An autopsy found the man, identified as Jose De Jesus Gonzalez Arroyo, died of alcohol intoxication and cold exposure as a contributing factor, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. He lived in the Little Village neighborhood.
The temperature was 41 degrees that morning at Midway Airport, according to the National Weather Service.
Police and the Chicago Fire Department did not say exactly where the man was found.
Two days earlier, another man died from the cold in west suburban Franklin Park.
The 66-year-old was found lying on his back Thursday between two buildings in the 2700 block of Mannheim Road, Franklin police said. The man, who appeared homeless and was wearing a bracelet from Gottlieb Hospital, was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy found he died of heart disease with cold exposure as a secondary factor, the medical examiner’s office said. His identity will be released after notification of family.
Last fall and winter, 47 deaths were found to be at least partially related to cold exposure, the medical examine’s office said.
