Fatal overdose deaths in Eyota prompts more safety in our communities
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(ABC 6 News) – Two men have died after an incident in Eyota last weekend. Preliminary autopsy reports show the deaths are the results of cocaine overdoses.
The three men at the scene were given Naloxone, or Narcan. Only the man who responded to the Narcan at the scene survived.
Fatal overdose incidents like this are prompting more safety in our communities with more education and the use of Narcan.
Capt. James Schueller with the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office said they do not know why the Narcan had a desired effect on one person but not on the others when all other factors seemed to be the same.
"The biggest thing is you don’t want people to be using the narcotics or the opioids but if they know that they are in that situation to be as safe as they can and make sure this is closely available because time is of the essence in this if you want to be successful and save someone’s life," Capt. Schueller said.
The Steve Rummler HOPE Network in the Twin Cities specializes in overdose prevention and awareness. They provide free Narcan across the state of Minnesota to anyone who needs it.
"It’s obviously extremely important that EMS and law enforcement have these tools but realistically saturation of all populations is really what’s going to make the difference," Alicia House, Executive Director of the Steve Rummler HOPE Network, said.
House said they distributed more Narcan last year than they ever have before.
"Our Naloxone kits come with three doses in each one and we distributed almost 18,000 kits last year around the state of Minnesota," she said.
But now something newer has been distributed by the Steve Rummler HOPE Network: Fentanyl Test Strips.
"Obviously any substance use there is a risk but we hope that this could be another educational material for people to have and hopefully prevent more overdoses," House said.
The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office is now waiting for the results of the final toxicology results to determine what the actual cause of the two deaths was, which could take up to 12 weeks.