February 26, 2021

The Chester County Coroner’s Office has investigated seven winter weather-related fatalities so far this year. Hypothermia — dangerously low body temperature — caused or contributed to the deaths of six Chester County residents.

Of those six, four persons were found outdoors and two died inside homes with inadequate or no heat. The ages of these decedents ranged from 59 to 87. All but one were male. Alcohol intoxication played a role in one death, while pre-existing conditions such as heart disease or dementia were present in others, the coroner’s office said in a press release.

An 81-year-old man from West Grove was found dead outdoors after a two-day missing person search. His cause of death was coronary artery disease with contributing factors of cold exposure and dementia, manner accidental.

A Kennett Township man was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his vehicle after being reported missing several days earlier. The manner of death was ruled accidental with no indication of suicide. It appears he had been running his car to keep warm, but modifications made to the car allowed carbon monoxide to get into the vehicle, the coroner’s office said. Toxicological testing determined that fatal levels of carbon monoxide accumulated within 30 minutes.

“The past weeks have seen more weather-related deaths than usual across the country, and Chester County has not been spared,” said Coroner Dr. Christina VandePol. “Sadly, these are preventable deaths, but hypothermia can set in very quickly in the kind of weather we’ve had this winter, especially in the elderly. We also urge people to avoid using risky ways to keep warm as they can result in fatal outcomes from fire or carbon monoxide poisoning.”