Allentown woman, 67, found dead after authorities say she wandered from home during winter storm
Published
9th Street in Allentown was left under about a foot of snow early Tuesday morning.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - A woman with Alzheimer’s disease who reportedly wandered away from her Allentown home was found dead during Monday’s snowstorm, authorities said.
The Lehigh County coroner’s office said 67-year-old Patricia Becker was pronounced dead on an Allentown street shortly after 9:30 a.m. Monday. The cause of death was determined to be hypothermia and was ruled an accident. The coroner’s office said she had reportedly wandered away from her residence, which is four blocks away on the same street. Police and the coroner’s office are investigating.
So what happens when the governor declares an emergency for weather?
By declaring the emergency, Wolf can rely on the Emergency Management Assistance Compact in order to provide for mutual aid between states during an emergency.
In addition, Wolf has authorized and directed that the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director can assume command and control of all statewide emergency operations and use any resources deemed necessary to cope with the severity of the emergency.
By doing so, Wolf was able to designate $2 million in unused, appropriated funds to expenses related to emergency. According to the proclamation, these funds can be increased or decreased as conditions require, per the Emergency Management Services Code.
Feb 2, 2021
PITTSBURGH (AP) A woman with Alzheimer’s disease who reportedly wandered away from her eastern Pennsylvania home was found dead during Monday’s snowstorm, authorities said.
The Lehigh County coroner’s office said 67-year-old Patricia Becker was pronounced dead on an Allentown street shortly after 9:30 a.m. Monday. The cause of death was determined to be hypothermia and was ruled an accident. The coroner’s office said she had reportedly wandered away from her residence, which is four blocks away on the same street. Police and the coroner’s office are investigating.
The National Weather Service reported snow totals at or near 13 inches in parts of the county by early afternoon, with 11.7 inches reported at Lehigh Valley International Airport.
bkibler@altoonamirror.com
Pennsylvania is “in the middle of the pack” in vaccination performance with its decentralized approach and not only needs to improve, but is willing to “steal” successful practices from other states if that will help, Gov. Tom Wolf said during a virtual news conference Tuesday.
But the main holdup for Pennsylvania and other states is a lack of doses from the federal government, according to Wolf and officials at the meeting.
“(When we) get more vaccines, I think we will do better,” Wolf said. “We want to be at the top.”
Pennsylvania is actually below the middle in percentage of doses received that have been administered 41st, at 5.1%, placing it in the 18th performance percentile, according to a New York Times chart.