A 63-year-old man who fell down the outer steps of his Johnstown apartment building in the freezing cold inexplicably removed some of his clothing before freezing to death.
Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees identified the victim as Daryl Lewis, 63, of Johnstown, as WTAJ and WJAC report, adding:
Lewis was found dead on Friday due to hypothermia on his steps outside his apartment, located at the 100 block of Adams Street in the city.
Another tenant in the apartment complex made the gruesome discovery.
In releasing more details on the case at a news conference, Lees said the victim appeared to have removed some of his clothing after falling on the outside apartment stairwell.
The coroner explained to WJAC that this is actually a common response in hypothermia cases, as the extreme cold actually can feel like heat.
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“He was found partially clothed. A lot of times, when somebody is experiencing hypothermia, we often see them stripping down their clothes and taking their clothes off because of the heat that they feel when they’re actually freezing,” Lees was quoted by WJAC-TV as saying.
It was not known how long Lewis was there before his body was discovered, Lees said.
The death was ruled accidental.
“With these extreme weather conditions that we’re seeing, we want to make a public service announcement to Cambria County and all surrounding areas to please use extreme caution,” Lees said.
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