UPDATED, Aug. 7: A 27-year-old Westwood man who was charged after he allegedly caused a two-car motor-vehicle collision while operating under the influence of heroin has subsequently overdosed and died.
Chief Fred Ryan confirmed the death Sunday, Aug. 7, after YourArlington requested the man’s name, which was not released.
“This was a complex case,” he wrote, describing what happened after the Wednesday, Aug. 3, collision near 220 Mass. Ave.
Police and emergency medical personnel rescued the young man at the scene and administered Narcan, he wrote. He was promptly transported to Mt. Auburn and turned over to medical professionals.
“He was subsequently released and was victim to a subsequent fatal overdoes. Very sad,” he wrote.
“For obvious reasons, we are trying to respect the family’s privacy.”
YourArlington does not publish the names of overdose victims.
The man had been charged with operating under the influence (drugs/heroin), operating to endanger and a marked-lanes violation
About 6:30 p.m., officers responded to 220 Mass. Ave. after receiving multiple reports of a motor vehicle collision. Upon arrival, police found the suspect slumped over in the driver’s seat of his Ford Taurus, unconscious. Officers and paramedics on scene determined he had overdosed on heroin and proceeded to administer a dose of Narcan.
The man regained consciousness and was transported to Mt. Auburn Hospital by ambulance.
Police learned that, while the driver of a Subaru Legacy was parked eastbound on Mass. Ave., he was hit from behind by the suspect. Both drivers pulled over, and as the man in Subaru got out of his vehicle to inspect the damage, he noticed the Westwood man was unresponsive in his seat and immediately dialed 911.
The man in the Subaru was not injured. Both vehicles sustained damage and the suspect’s car was towed from the scene.
This report was published Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, and updated Aug. 7.
