By Associated Press/KWGS News
Oklahoma City, OK – Okla man may be state's 5th heat-related death
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The state Medical Examiner's office says a man may be the fifth heat-related death of the year.
Medical Examiner's spokeswoman Cherokee Ballard says an autopsy and toxicology tests are still being conducted on 27-year-old Gerardo Espinoza, but officials believe he died of hyperthermia, an overheating of the body.
Ballard says Espinoza had been mowing outside in south Oklahoma City Tuesday afternoon, when temperatures neared 100 degrees. He died at an Oklahoma City hospital.
Ballard says four other people, including a young girl from Meeker, have died from heat-related complications. She says several other cases are being examined to see if those deaths were heat-related.
Triple-digit heat has gripped Oklahoma for the past few weeks, but temperatures are expected to fall closer to seasonal averages over the weekend.