Crime & Safety
Hypothermia, Head Injuries Kill Elderly Will County Woman
The 81-year-old died several days after falling down in Beecher and is Cook County's eighth cold-related death since October.
BEECHER, IL — An elderly Beecher woman died Sunday, five days after suffering head injuries and hypothermia from a fatal fall. The Cook County Medical Examiner said the death of 81-year-old Lois Ruder was ruled an accident.
Ruder was found Tuesday, Jan. 2 in the 500 block of Chestnut Lane and taken to Rush University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead Sunday morning.
Ruder died of head injuries caused by a fall, along with contributing factors hypothermia from cold exposure and cardiovascular disease, according to Cook County officials. Her death brings the total of cold-related deaths in Cook County to eight since October.
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The death of an 81-year-old woman who died yesterday was determined to be caused in part due to hypothermia due to cold exposure. So far this season, which begins in October, there have been at least eight cold-related deaths in Cook County.
— Cook County ME (@CookCountyME) January 8, 2018
Visitation for Ruder, a mother of three and grandmother and great-grandmother of nine, was Wednesday afternoon, according to her obituary.
Image via Shutterstock
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