RASH OF HEROIN OVERDOSES CLAIMS ANOTHER LIFE

Police and rescuers converged on a parking lot in Wilmington, where
they found what authorities say is the latest in a string of deadly
heroin overdoses.

The unidentified man was pronounced dead about 1:10 p.m. Tuesday
outside the Compton Court apartments on Eighth Street, said Sgt.
Kelli Starr-Leach, spokeswoman for the New Castle County Emergency
Medical Services.

More than a dozen deaths in Delaware and surrounding states are
suspected to be linked to a batch of heroin that reached the region,
possibly mixed with a powerful anesthetic called fentanyl,
authorities said.Advertisement

Before the recent rash of overdoses, with at least four deaths in New
Castle County, Starr-Leach said paramedics typically might get two or
three overdose calls a day. Now that's more than tripled, she said,
with 10 calls on Tuesday alone.

In three of the fatalities as early as April 22, police reported
finding packets of heroin labeled "Honda" -- but no information has
been available about its possible source.

Authorities will not speculate how long the rash of overdoses will
last -- or how many will die before it ends.

"That depends on how big the supply is, and we just don't know," said
New Castle County police spokesman Cpl. Trinidad Navarro.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Starr-Leach said, "but we hope it ends soon."

Wilmington police spokesman Master Sgt. John O'Connor said three
suspected heroin overdoses occurred within an hour in the city
Tuesday, not counting the man who died.

At 12:45 p.m., a 51-year-old woman was found stricken in the 700
block E. 23rd St., he said. She was in stable condition later, he said.

At 1:10 p.m., a 22-year-old woman who was in the car with the man who
died received treatment after showing signs of overdosing.

At 1:45 p.m., a case was reported at Fifth and Jefferson streets, he
said. That 35-year-old man also was in stable condition later, he said.

According to Starr-Leach, paramedics have found several of the
overdose victims very close to death, including one man paramedics
revived Saturday after finding him not breathing at all.

"It's unbelievable," Starr-Leach said. "We're all just shaking our
heads over this, wondering when it will end."

Usually, she said, rescuers administer a drug called Narcan that
counteracts the effects of heroin relatively quickly.

But the heroin is so strong and the addition of fentanyl may require
use of additional Narcan dose or may leave those who overdose unable
to be revived.

"This is just so powerful," she said, adding that some users appear
to be using their normal doses and being felled quickly, or they are
attracted by the recent deaths and use the drugs hoping for an extra high.

Staff reporter Patti Petitte contributed to this article.