Page 2 - Christopher Pexton News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

3:45 pm UTC Dec. 19, 2020 His name was Michael Russo, and he was 53 years old.  He was found unresponsive in a wheelchair near 20th Street and Thomas Road and pronounced dead there.  It was May 6, at the start of the second excessive heat warning in metro Phoenix in 2020. Russo was the first person experiencing homelessness this year to die as a result of heat exposure. A combination of a common form of heart disease, recent methamphetamine use and environmental heat exposure caused Russo's death.  The Maricopa County medical examiner confirmed that heat was a primary or secondary cause ...

9:37 pm UTC Dec. 18, 2020 More than 500 people experiencing homelessness in metro Phoenix died in the first nine months of 2020.  The unexpected and deadly COVID-19 virus — which ravaged the world this year and killed more than 7,000 Arizonans —  was known to be responsible for only four of those deaths.  The rest were caused by the same concerns that killed hundreds of homeless people last year and, in all likelihood, will kill hundreds more next year.  Drug overdoses. Heatstroke. Malnutrition. Treatable illnesses. Vehicle collisions. Nearly all of the people who died were not stay...