75-year-old Orange County man dies after falling off ladder trying to clean Hurricane Ian debris
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Orange County is reporting its first Hurricane Ian-related death.
Mayor Jerry Demings made the announcement on Monday that a 75-year-old man fell off a ladder while cleaning storm debris from his roof.
"He later succumbed to his injuries and so to that family, our prayers certainly go out to them," Demings said.
The mayor reminded residents to use extreme caution while cleaning up debris from the storm.
According to the Florida District Medical Examiners report, this brings the number of storm-related deaths in Florida to 102. But a summary from the commission reports most of the victims died from drowning.
That's what happened to a man at the Good Samaritan Village in Osceola County. Officials say he was found face-down in a foot of water inside his home.
"Horrible. Makes you feel horrible. This poor guy. I don’t know if he has family, I don’t know if he chose to stay," said Good Samaritan resident Miguel Velez. He and others are heartbroken, after learning that one of their neighbors died during Ian.
Also in Osceola County, the daughter of 72-year-old Terry Curtin says that her dad was working on his gutters just days before the storm. That's when she says he fell off a ladder and hit his head on the concrete below.
The following is a list of deaths by county as of Tuesday:
- Orange – 1
- Osceola – 2
- Volusia – 5
- Charlotte – 5
- Collier – 5
- DeSoto – 1
- Hardee – 4
- Hendry – 2
- Hillsborough – 1
- Lake – 1
- Lee – 52
- Manatee – 3
- Martin – 1
- Monroe – 7
- Polk – 2
- Putnam – 3
- Sarasota –7