Two more heat-related deaths have been reported this month, bringing the total to five so far this summer.
Gary Hempel, a 66-year-old man from Delaware, died on July 15 in the 1000 block of West Addison from a cardiovascular disease, the Cook County medical examiner’s office announced Saturday. An autopsy found that heat stroke was a contributing factor in his death.
A week later, Adam Wrona, a 56-year-old Schiller Park man, died on July 21 in the 3600 block of West Palmer Street after a heat-wave that killed two other people, authorities said. An autopsy ruled the cause of death to be hypothermia due to heat stroke, with cardiovascular disease as a contributing factor.
Both deaths were ruled accidents, authorities said.
The first heat-related death of the summer happened July 5, when 87-year-old Leona T. Serafin died in the 2100 block of West Shakespeare Avenue, according to the medical examiner’s office. Serafin died from organic cardiovascular disease with probable heat stress as a contributing factor.
