S. Ill. coroner blames heat in 2 more deaths

BELLEVILLE, Ill. — A coroner in southwestern Illinois says the heat wave gripping the region is blamed in two deaths.

St. Clair County Coroner Rick Stone tells the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that both men were found dead Wednesday night.

The body of 72-year-old Willie Gill of East St. Louis was found in a ditch near a home where he occasionally stayed. Stone described Gill as a transient and said his body temperature was 106.5 degrees.

Stone says 51-year-old Kevin Miller of Belleville died of a heat-related heart attack before he was found unresponsive on his front porch. The coroner says Miller used a wheelchair and had various medical complications.