A 96-year-old Charlotte County man found trapped under a car in high water is the oldest victim of Hurricane Ian’s deadly course through Southwest Florida, whose wrath is now revealed in a grim spreadsheet compiled by the state’s Medical Examiners’ Commission.
The 68-person list of confirmed dead is certain to grow
But in spare, jarring detail, the last moments of the lives of Floridians caught in one of nation’s most powerful storms is revealed in the medical examiners’ report — though victims are not identified by name.
“The decedent was outside her residence smoking a cigarette when a gust of wind from the hurricane blew her off the porch and she subsequently struck her head on a concrete step,” was the description of how a 71-year-old Manatee County woman died Thursday.
A 54-year-old Lee County man died attempting to flee rising flood waters. “The decedent attempted to get out of a window and became trapped,”
“Decedent shot himself after seeing property damage due to hurricane,” was the summary for a 73-year-old Lee County man who died Friday.
“Decedent was crushed by sliding glass door and pool cage,” was how a 65-year-old man evidently died Friday.
For many with health problems, the storm proved too much to overcome.
A 70-year-old Lee County woman who had high blood pressure, recovering from a stroke and other medical issues, was “found in flood waters up to chest.” Her death Saturday was attributed to “delayed medical access due to hurricane.”