GREELEY, Colo. — A man who was found dead after a May hailstorm in Greeley died of alcohol-related hypothermia, according to a report from the Weld County coroner.
The coroner's report says 48-year-old Joseph Carrisales' cause of death was complications of hypothermia due to being intoxicated outside overnight after the storm. Chronic alcohol abuse was a significant contributing factor, the report said. His death was ruled an accident.
Carrisales was found dead May 28 outside a friend's home near 24th Street and 8th Avenue after severe weather brought large hail and flooding.
Carrisales' family told 9NEWS he was with some friends outside when the storm rolled in. Those friends said they thought he was walking to his nearby home as they raced into a house.
Carrisales was known for his love of good barbecue, music and family.
“He’s more than a dead man found. His name is Joseph,” his sister, Irene Carrisales, told 9NEWS in June. “And they did find him dead after the storm, but that’s not all there is to it. We don’t want him to just be associated with that gloom and sadness because there was much more to him.”
The City of Greeley issued a local disaster declaration after the storm, which was estimated to have caused more than $1.45 million in damage.
The city received 71 calls for service during a four-hour period while the storm was moving through. Greeley agencies and crews from Platte Valley, Evans and Windsor assisted 47 callers and completed 10 rescues, a city spokeswoman said.