At least four people in Southland died amid freezing temperatures, officials report
The Will County coroner issued a warning to residents to be careful with extreme cold and heavy snow after deaths related to the weather.
Coroner Laurie Summers urged residents to use caution shoveling snow and limit their exposure to the frigid cold weather after her office had two possible cold exposure deaths over the weekend. The Cook County medical examiner’s office also cited weather as a contributing factor in five other deaths since Jan. 11.
A wind chill advisory was in place across the Chicago area through Wednesday as bitterly cold temperatures descend over the region, and wind chills Sunday morning reached minus 40, the National Weather Service said.
Todd Tschiggfrie, 44, of Park Forest, died Jan. 12 after being found in a driveway in the 8400 block of Brookside Glen Drive in Tinley Park. He was pronounced at 11:42 p.m. at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, according to the Will County coroner’s office.
Thomas Kapala, 62, of the Mount Greenwood neighborhood in Chicago, died Monday night of heart disease, diabetes and cold exposure, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Police said that Kapala was initially found unresponsive in his garage.
Robert Tuxford, 62, of Oak Lawn, died Jan. 12 of heart disease. The medical examiner listed probable cold exposure as a secondary cause of Tuxford’s death.
In Bolingbrook, Craig M. Buckley, 59, died Tuesday after being found outside in the 200 block of Coral Court, according to the Will County coroner’s office.
Caroline Kubzansky contributed to this article.
