A teenaged college student from the University of Minnesota in Duluth is severed injured after passing out on a frozen front porch after a night of drinking with friends.
Alysssa Jo Lommel, 19, suffered severe hypothermia and faces the risk of losing one or more limbs after overnight temperatures dropped to -17. The wind chill is said to have dropped to -36.
After being dropped off around midnight, Lommel wasn't discovered until 9:30 a.m. Police found her cellphone on the back porch and footprints matching the boots she had on in the backyards of the two homes.
Lommel's night included time spent at parties in homes around the University of Minnesota Duluth, where she is a student. Friends and roommates interviewed said Lommel did not appear to be noticeably intoxicated, and the men who dropped her off at her home said they didn't wait to see if she entered or not. (Duluth News Tribune)
Lommel was taken to St. Luke's and later flown to Regions in St. Paul where she is currently in stable but critical condition. The incident is still under investigation.
"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." (My Fox Twin Cities)
As Lommel was not wearing gloves, her hands swelled up to three times their normal size causing the skin to split.
Doctors are attempting to surgecially improve Lommel's blood flow in order to avoid having to amputate any of the affected limbs. (Gawker.com)