LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Authorities say a man who was found dead behind a University of Kentucky apparel store had died of hypothermia brought on by cold overnight temperatures in downtown Lexington.
The Fayette County coroner’s office said in a news release that 41-year-old Robert E. Johnson’s death was an accident caused by exposure-related hypothermia.
Johnson’s body was found Monday morning behind Wildcat Warehouse near the school’s campus, where temperatures reached as low as 10 degrees early Monday.
Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn tells WLEX-TV(http://bit.ly/1OmpHkR ) that Johnson was a known panhandler.
According to the Mayo Clinic, hypothermia occurs when the body loses heat faster than it can produce heat, causing a dangerously low body temperature. Left untreated, hypothermia can eventually lead to complete failure of the heart and respiratory system and to death.