Man dies of cold exposure in Schiller Park

CHICAGO - A man died of cold exposure Thursday in northwest suburban Schiller Park, the year’s first cold-related death as the area endures a winter storm ahead of colder temperatures next week.

The 60-year-old man, whose name wasn’t released, died about 1 p.m. in the 4600 block of Wesley Terrace, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Schiller Park police and fire officials couldn’t be reached immediately.

Autopsy results released Friday said he died of environmental cold exposure, and his death was ruled an accident, according to the medical examiner’s office.

It was the first cold exposure death of the year in Cook County, but not the first of this cold weather season. A 74-year-old woman died Dec. 4 on Chicago’s Lower West Side of cold exposure and hypothermia, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Following a few inches of snow earlier in the week, temperatures were in the low 30s Thursday before a stronger storm brought several inches of snow to the Chicago area Friday.

Meteorologists expect brutally cold weather to hit the area this weekend and last until the middle of next week. The highs Monday and Tuesday are expected to be in the single digits, with wind chills reaching as low as minus 20 degrees.