Six West Point spring breakers OD on fentanyl-laced cocaine in Florida
Paramedics responded to a short-term Airbnb rental home Thursday in Wilton Manors and found six people in cardiac arrest from a drug overdose, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan told …
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Six West Point spring breakers OD on fentanyl-laced cocaine in Florida
archived 12 Mar 2022 04:26:15 UTC
Six West Point spring breakers OD on fentanyl-laced cocaine in Florida
By Joshua Rhett Miller
March 11, 2022 9:03am
Six West Point football players on spring break in Florida overdosed on fentanyl-laced cocaine, leaving two in critical condition, authorities and reports said Friday.
Paramedics responded to a short-term Airbnb rental home Thursday in Wilton Manors and found the six cadets in cardiac arrest from a drug overdose, according to The Orlando Sun-Sentinel.
Two of the victims remained in critical condition Friday, Wilton Manors police confirmed to The Post. At least one of the victims was treated and released, according to NBC Miami.
The group — all men in their early 20s — were in town to celebrate spring break from the US Military Academy at West Point in New York, officials said.
One of the students was hospitalized in critical condition, while five others were listed as stable.WPLG
“The U.S. Military Academy is aware of the situation involving West Point cadets, which occurred Thursday night in Wilton Manors, FL. The incident is currently under investigation and no other details are available at this time,” a West Point spokesperson said in a statement.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan told WPLG that “narcan was deployed as quickly as possible,” referring to a drug that reverses the effects of opioid overdoses.
“This is extremely alarming to us,” Gollan said.
The students overdosed on what they thought was cocaine, but had actually been laced with fentanyl — a synthetic opioid 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“It’s extremely, extremely potent and can stop your heart, your respiration,” Gollan told NBC Miami.
Just four of the students used the laced cocaine. Two others got sick after giving mouth-to-mouth to the initial overdose victims, authorities told the station.
Wilton Manors police later sent out a warning to other young revelers to avoid using illicit drugs.WPLG
“Spring break has come off the beach and into communities,” Gollan said. “And that’s what you’re seeing here.”
A woman who lives nearby said she saw paramedics responding to the home and removing the victims from the home while unconscious before “just laying them on the grass,” according to NBC Miami.
Another neighbor, meanwhile, said she saw nothing out of the ordinary prior to the mass overdose.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan called the incident “extremely alarming.”WPLG
“They seem like good kids, typical college kids,” the Wilton Manors resident told CBS Miami. “Rowdy in the pool, but they don’t deserve this.”
Wilton Manors police later sent out a warning to other young revelers now in south Florida.
“WMPD wants to warn spring breakers about the dangers of using illicit drugs & to avoid mixing drugs with alcohol or other forms of drugs,” department officials tweeted. “Protect yourself from the dangers of fentanyl.”
In November, data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed drug overdose deaths in the US surged by nearly 30 percent over the previous year
Two of the students got sick after using life-saving measures on the initial overdose victims, authorities told the station.WPLG
An estimated 100,306 people died nationwide from overdoses during a 12-month period ending in April — a 28.5 percent spike from 78,056 tallied in the same span a year earlier.
Deaths due to opioids, including highly potent fentanyl, accounted for more than 75 percent of fatalities during the yearlong span, according to the data.
