Akron police and fire crews handled a rash of suspected heroin overdoses Friday night, answering at least 24 overdose calls between 1:45 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Newsnet5.com was on the scene of multiple overdose calls Friday night. Akron police said “a bad batch” of heroin and/or fentanyl appeared to be the culprit.
Akron fire responded to a call on the 900 block of Concord avenue to treat three adults who had overdosed. According to an incident report, a three-year-old child wandered off during the course of the overdoses and was located in the backyard of a home on the next street over.
Around 6:15 p.m. police received another call for a possible overdose when a pick up truck driver in the Chapel Hill Mall was reported for driving erratically, hitting a pole and crashing into a guard rail behind the former Macy’s store.
The vehicle caught fire and police on the scene told newsnet5.com that the victim was passed out in the cab of the truck and they tried to pull him out.
He sustained serious burns but made it out alive.
Another suspected overdose victim was found laying in the sidewalk on Canton Rd. Another victim was laying in the parking lot of a Dairy Queen on Brittain Road.
Akron police told newsnet5.com that the overdoses Friday come after four reported overdose deaths on Thursday night, bringing the total number of overdose deaths this year to 112.
