Smoking a Cigarette on a Windy Day Proves Deadly

A Pennsylvania man died from burns he suffered while smoking a cigarette on a windy day outside an assisted living facility earlier this month.

The Lebanon Daily News reports 65-year-old Richard Clentimack died at the Lehigh Valley Burn Center, where he had been flown after sustaining burns to more than 70 percent of his body on April 3.

State police say Clentimack was smoking outside Hill Farm Estate in North Annville Township on a windy day when his clothes caught fire.

"It was a windy day, and he was out smoking a cigarette at the time," State police Cpl. Scott Brennan told the paper.

The Lehigh County coroner's office says the death has been ruled accidental.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Welfare says representatives are investigating.

Clentimack's family says he served in the Army in Vietnam and was awarded the Purple Heart. He will be buried with full military honors at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, according to his obituary.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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