SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., June 19 (UPI) -- An elderly Arizona woman died of apparent heat exhaustion after she and her husband left their car in southern California.
A passer-by found Virgil and Joyce Sanders on Monday evening near Parker Dam in San Bernardino County, the Los Angeles Times reported. Joyce, 77, was dead, while her 89-year-old husband had second- and third-degree burns.
Sgt. Tim Smith of the county sheriff's office said that investigators were unsure why the couple, residents of Oracle, Ariz., were on a remote road in California and why they had gotten out of their car, which was parked about 80 feet away. He said that the husband may have needed to urinate.
Virgil Sanders was airlifted to a burn center in Phoenix, where he was listed in critical condition.
Smith said that the temperature peaked at 116 degrees Monday. He said that the county usually gets at least one death from heat exhaustion every summer.
"If you're going to be in a vehicle, make sure you carry lots of water and you don't get below half a tank of gas in the desert areas. Carry a cellphone and let people know where you're going," Smith said.
