UPDATE: Number of Heat-Related Deaths Rises to 10...
Four more Chicagoans died Thursday, due in part to the extremely high temperatures breaking records across the Midwest this week, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed.
Autopsies performed Friday by the medical examiner's office found that heat stress, along with heart disease, factored into the deaths of Carmen Mercado, 81, of West Superior Street; Riley Kimble, 59, of West Jackson Boulevard; Pat Wong, 91, of North Winchester Avenue; and Frank Proczek, 58 of South Western Avenue.
The four Thursday victims bring the total of heat-related deaths in Cook County this week to six, including the first two heat-related deaths of the season: Eugene Burns and John McCullough, who also died from causes related to heat stress and heart disease.
While Wednesday’s 102-degree temps tied the 1911 record high, Thursday's and Friday's high temperatures both broke records, with Thursday topping out at 103 degrees and Friday's temperatures rising to 100 degrees by 1 p.m.
