Five mall employees found overdosing on fentanyl in a parking garage, NJ officials say
Five women working at a mall were found overdosing on the powerful drug fentanyl in New Jersey, officials say.
Another employee spotted three of the women laying down on the ground of the parking garage at the Shops at Riverside in Hackensack and began performing CPR, NBC New York reported.
“When I approached the one lady, her lips and hands were blue,” the man told the outlet. “The other two ladies were the same as well.”
The five women were revived with the overdose-reversing medication Narcan by first responders, who arrived at the scene alongside Hackensack police, according to officials, WABC-TV reported.
Four of the women were brought to a nearby hospital while the fifth declined to be taken there, police said, according to NJ.com.
How the women became exposed to fentanyl is currently unknown, NBC New York reported.
Fentanyl is a narcotic and synthetic opioid meant to treat severe pain in medical settings, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Fentanyl consumption can be intentional as well as accidental if the drug has been mixed into other illegal substances such as heroin or cocaine.
Now the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office are investigating the overdoses alongside Hackensack police, according to NJ.com.
McClatchy News contacted police and the prosecutor’s office about the incident on March 16 and is awaiting a response.
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