Narcan Used Twice To Save Overdosing Woman's Life In Riverside

RIVERSIDE, IL — Riverside Police officers were able to save a 34-year-old woman's life after an overdose by using Narcan twice on her. Police said they received a call at 11:34 a.m. Dec. 29 for a dead body in a home in the 100 block of Groveland Avenue.

According to police, information provided during the 911 call indicated a female resident had overdosed and/or attempted suicide, and that children were present in the home. When the first officer arrived, he was met at the front door by four children who told the officer their mother was upstairs in a bedroom and would not wake up. The children, ranging in age from 6 to 11, had told their mother’s boyfriend their mother was dead, and he is the one who called police.

Police said the officer found the 34-year-old female in bed. He recognized the victim was in a "heroin snore" and close to death. The officer administered one dose of Narcan and the victim became sensitive to pain. According to police, she still would not come out of the full overdose, so the officer deployed the second dose of Narcan and the victim came to and became combative with police.

Police said this combativeness is a normal medical reaction when reacting to Narcan, and officers are trained to be prepared for it. Riverside paramedics arrived and took over medical treatment of the victim, who was transported to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood for further medical evaluation.

According to police, officers looked throughout the home for any heroin or opioid products and spoke to the children. The oldest boy in the house, an 11-year-old, told officers he could not wake his mother and then called his mother's boyfriend and told him about it.

According to police, relatives told Riverside investigators the victim had been depressed but had never attempted to hurt herself before this incident. No note was left and there were no signs of an attempted suicide. The investigation is ongoing, but evidence points to an accidental overdose by opioid.

Riverside Police contacted a relative, who came and took custody of the four children. Police also said the house was in very poor condition and that officers could smell gas. Riverside Police contacted the fire department to check for a gas leak before turning the situation over to Nicor.

DCFS was contacted and asked to open a neglect investigation, as children were present during the overdose. Riverside’s building department was also contacted to make sure the house was safe to live in, as hoarding conditions were evident inside the residence.

“This opioid overdose happened to a Riverside resident, a 34-year-old female with four children in the home," Chief of Police Thomas Weitzel said in a release. "For those in society that think that these heroin and opioid overdoses only happen in the dark inner city back alleys, they are misinformed. What a heartbreaking situation for those children who found and thought their mother was dead."

Weitzel added that he was proud of his officers for responding so quickly.

"The first officer who deployed the Narcan was on scene within 2 minutes and 34 seconds of the first 911 call. If he had not deployed the two doses of Narcan, this victim may have very well died. It is imperative for officers to carry Narcan as evidenced in this case — it saves lives.”

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