Chicago man dies days after saving grandson from house fire

CHICAGO – A 69-year-old Chicago man has died days after he safely dropped his 7-year-old grandson from a burning apartment to police officers.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office says Apolonio Castellano died early Saturday at the University of Chicago Medical Center. An autopsy was pending.

The Chicago Tribune reports Castellano had been hospitalized since Sept. 9, when dense smoke filled the second-floor coach home where he lived in with his daughter and grandson on Chicago’s far South Side

Fire officials say that as the flames swept through the home, Castellano removed a window and dropped his grandson into the hands of two police officers below. The boy was treated for smoke inhalation at Comer Children’s Hospital.

Castellano had been hospitalized in critical condition with burns and smoke inhalation.

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Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com