Three suspected fatal drug overdoes reported on BART this week

PLEASANT HILL, Calif. (KRON) -- Three deaths were reported this week on the BART system -- all of them suspected drug overdoses. 

One of the deaths occurred at the height of the evening commute. 

The most recent death believed to be drug-related happened at the Pleasant Hill BART station.

According to the BART police logs, an SFO bound train was held as BART officers responded to a report of an unresponsive male BART passenger.

They administered Narcan, which can reverse an opioid overdose, but it didn't work and the man identified as 36-year-old Frank Sanders IIII of Richmond was declared dead.

The other two suspected fatal drug overdoses happened Monday. 

A man was found not breathing at the Daly City BART station just after 10 a.m. 

Medics were unable to revive him.

The San Mateo coroner has identified him as 34-year-old William Hogarth and describes him as transient. 

💻 Find today’s top stories on KRON4.com for the Bay Area and beyond.
📲 Download the KRON4 app to stay updated on the go.
📧 Sign up for KRON4 email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox.

Then later, just before 5 p.m. during the evening commute, a Berryessa bound train was stopped at the Fremont station for another unresponsive man. Again Narcan was administered, but it didn't save him.

He has not yet been identified. 

One BART rider was shocked by the timing of the Fremont death, and by the sheer number of the recent suspected drug fatalities on the system she uses regularly. 

While another rider said he's surprised it doesn't happen more often. 

All BART police personnel are equipped with Narcan and their police logs show that twice this week they were successful reviving two unresponsive people using the lifesaving nasal spray -- once on a Richmond bound train stopped at the Berkeley station and another at the San Bruno station. 

While fentanyl hasn't been definitely linked to these recent suspected overdoses, it is driving the spike in fatal overdoses in the Bay Area. 

BART says passengers witnessing any kind of medical emergency can inform their train operator using the intercoms located at either end of the car using the BART Watch App or dialing 911.

from KRON4 https://ift.tt/2YmWCY6