New York authorities report the death of 17 people from the winter storm
The death toll in western New York state over the weekend rose to 17New York authorities reported Sunday night, while other tens of thousands of citizens continue without electricity service.
Kathy Hochul, Democratic Governor of New York along with Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, released the 12 deaths in Erie County of people between the ages of 26 and 93, at a press conference on Sunday night.
For his part, the Buffalo Police Commissioner, Joseph Gramaglia, later declared for a local media that Four other deaths had been confirmed in the city, reaching 10 deaths.
A 27-year-old man also lost his life in Niagara County after carbon monoxide from his furnace was covered by snow, WGRZ reported.
According to Poloncarz, the death toll from the winter storm could continue to rise.
“We think, based on the reports we get from the field, that we will get a number, hopefully not a significant number, but an additional number of confirmed deaths in the next six hours because of the bodies that have been found, but have not been found. They have not yet been transported to hospitals for identification and confirmation of death,” said the executive.
Among the fatalities was William “Romello” Clay, who was discovered dead, frozen in the street on his 56th birthday.
The governor called the storm an “epic, once-in-a-lifetime storm” that made it impossible for emergency services and even plow trucks to get from one place to another.
“It was a blinding snowstorm,” he said.
In addition, state police and the National Guard were alerted to offer their assistance as Buffalo and nearby areas attempted to dig out the large amount of snow. Poloncarz said it was the first time the Buffalo Fire Department had been unable to respond to emergency reports “because it was so bad.”
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