WINDSOR, Ont. — The fierce snowstorm that stranded hundreds of motorists in southwestern Ontario Tuesday also claimed the life of a Sarnia man.
Police are not releasing the name of the 41-year-old security guard who was on his way to work, at the request of family members, but said he was discovered frozen to death in a rural area near Ridgetown not far from his car.
“He was found in a field, adjacent to Golf Course Line,” said Chatham-Kent Police Service Sgt. Gary Conn. “His vehicle was located approximately 50 metres away, stuck in a snow drift.”
Sgt. Conn said the body was found around noon Tuesday and that a post-mortem indicates he succumbed to the cold.
“For whatever reason, we have no idea why, he left his vehicle,” Conn said. “And obviously he got disoriented in the storm.”
Police are not treating the death as suspicious.
“We are attributing the death to the extreme cold weather,” Sgt. Conn said. “He succumbed to hypothermia.”
Meanwhile, Ontario’s Highway 402 between London and the Bluewater Bridge is now open in both directions following a dramatic few days that saw motorists stranded in frozen vehicles rescued by police and military choppers.
Both lanes of the highway were opened at 7:30 a.m.Thursday.
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