Sleep aid blamed in death

A sleep aid is being blamed in the death of a Hayward, Wisconsin man after he was found frozen to death outside on Tuesday morning, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. They go on to report the man was an insomniac who took Ambien to aid his sleep and he had had more than one sleepwalking incident before while taking the drug. A previous time he had gotten into his truck and driven it while sleepwalking, eventually crashing it into the side of his own garage. The following morning he had no recollection of the incident. On Tuesday the man was found barefoot near his home, wearing only underpants and a fleece shirt.

Ambien is the most-prescribed sleep aid in the United States and has been linked to hundreds of cases of sleepwalking, sleep-driving and even sleep-shoplifting. Sanofi-Aventis, which makes the drug, maintains it is safe when taken correctly and not mixed with alcohol or other drugs. It's reported the man sometimes mixed the drug with alcohol.