The Lehigh County coroner says a 93-year-old man died as a result of prolonged exposure to cold from power outages associated with Hurricane Sandy.
Luther Fritizinger of 1063 Mosser Road, Upper Macungie, was found dead Thursday in his garage. The cause of death is attributed to hypothermia; the manner of death has been ruled an accident, according to a press release from the coroner Friday afternoon.
The coroner and Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department are investigating.
This is at least the fourth Lehigh Valley death related to Sandy.
Earlier this week, an Orefield woman found dead in her yard after the storm also succumbed to hypothermia. And a Lower Macungie woman died as a result of carbon monoxide poisioning from a generator being used after high winds from the storm caused widespread power outages.
A Wind Gap teen died Monday night when an ATV he was riding struck a tree downed by Sandy.
Remember, you may only smell light fumes & think you're okay from Carbon Monoxide. CO, itself, is ODORLESS. You may be SMELLING something else, and inhaling 5 times more in CO. ANY fire, including kerosene heaters, eats oxygen, and produces CO. PLEASE BE CAREFUL!! (Allentown - kerosene heaters 100% illegal in apts, and you WILL be fined)!!