South Brunswick Police Officers Save 21-year-Old Overdose Victim

According to the South Brunswick Police Department:

South Brunswick Police Officers quick actions saved the life of a 21-year-old Township man early Sunday morning. At 4:11am police received a 911 call from a man who said his friend had overdosed on heroin and was unconscious in a backyard. Officer Scott Bucca and Officer Marcus Leysath responded to the residence off Deans Lane and were directed to the backyard by the friend.

They found the victim unresponsive with minimal breathing. Officers used the medicine Naloxone to prevent the heroin from slowing and stopping the victim’s breathing. The officers reported that within minutes of administering the medicine the victim began to breathe normally. The Monmouth Junction First Aid Squad and paramedics transported the victim to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for treatment.

Chief Raymond Hayducka said, “We implemented officers carrying Naloxone as soon as the State passed the law allowing us to have it. This medicine gives the officers another tool to use to prevent tragedies like heroin overdoses. We know first hand the challenges heroin poses in our State; last year alone three people died as a result of heroin overdoses in our community.”

He added, “I want to commend the officers for their quick actions in preventing this young man from becoming another tragedy.” This is the first case of a life being saved in South Brunswick using the medicine.