A 66-year-old Cottage Grove man was found dead in his car Monday after falling and suffering from hypothermia, authorities said.
Cottage Grove police were called about 4:30 p.m. to the 8800 block of Hamlet Avenue S. The caller who summoned police said a man, later identified as Dallas G. Gilbert, was sitting in his car and appeared to be dead, which was confirmed by paramedics when they arrived, said Capt. Pete Koerner of the Cottage Grove Police Department.
Gilbert was apparently heading for work in the morning, when he slipped and fell on the ice, possibly a couple of times, and struck his head, Koerner said. He made it to his car, where he was found several hours later.
The Ramsey County medical examiner's office conducted an autopsy Tuesday and found that Gilbert had died accidentally as a result of trauma caused by falling and hypothermia.
Temperatures Monday had dropped into the 20s. Blowing snow and windchills in the teens caused slippery conditions.
JIM ANDERSON
