DULUTH, Minnesota – A 19-year-old University of Minnesota-Duluth student is in critical condition after she was found unconscious on a neighbor’s porch, having spent more than nine hours outside in sub zero temperatures.
Alyssa Joe Lommel was reportedly dropped off outside her house around Midnight. Roughly nine and half hours later, a passerby found her laying unconscious on the porch and reported it to the police who arrived around 9:36 a.m. The overnight temperature dropped to -17 with wind chill hovering around -36.
Lommel suffered severe hypothermia and was rushed to the hospital and listed in “stable critical” condition, but her parents told the St. Cloud Times she may end up losing one or more of her hands and feet. Her parents have also met with a plastic surgeon to discuss skin graft options for the severe injuries she sustained in the cold.
“We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers for our daughter,” parents, Jay and Teri Lommel said in a statement. “We ask for privacy at this time so that we may focus on her healing.”
There are mixed reports concerning how much alcohol may or may not have played a role in the incident but according to the Duluth News Tribune, friends said she had been drinking for six hours, including a game where she took tequila shots. Police reported finding a Twitter entry from Lommel stating “Yum Yum 10th shot of tequila.” The tweet has reportedly since been deleted.
Photo: Facebook
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