Latest news with #Coroner'sOffice
International Business Times
6 hours ago
- International Business Times
Louisiana Father Charged with Murder After Leaving 21-Month-Old Daughter in Hot Car for 9 Hours While Drunk
A Louisiana father has been charged with murdering his 21-month-old daughter, who reportedly died in a hot car on Sunday, June 8. Local news outlets reported that a family member discovered the girl after she was left in a parked car in Madisonville for nine hours. St. Tammany Parish police determined that the girl's father, Joseph Boatman, 35, arrived to pick her up from a relative's home, but he instead strapped her into a car seat and entered a nearby residence. Instead of removing her from the car upon arriving at the residence, he failed to return from the residence and left her in the car overnight. Boatman was charged with second-degree murder, as police believe he had several alcoholic drinks before picking up his daughter. It is unclear why Boatman strapped his daughter into the vehicle and then left. "The child was buckled in the car seat as best as they could tell around 2:30 in the morning on Sunday," she said. "Then a family member located her there around noon." The family member then called 911 after finding the child unresponsive. "This is a devastating loss that no family ever wants to face," Sheriff Randy Smith said. "When a child is left in a vehicle, especially on a day when the heat index climbs over 100 degrees, the outcome can turn deadly in a matter of minutes. This case involved compromised judgment, and the result was heartbreaking." Boatman's daughter is reportedly the fifth hot-car death this year. According to No Heat Stroke, 39 children died in hot cars in 2024. The St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office is expected to conduct an autopsy to determine the official cause of death.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Coroner identifies Conway woman hit and killed along Highway 501 in April
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A woman who was hit and killed along Highway 501 in April has been identified by the Horry County Coroner's Office. Amanda Hewitt, 38, of Conway, suffered multiple traumatic injuries after being hit in the area of Highway 501 and West Perry Road on April 10, the coroner's office said. It happened at about 5:50 a.m. Hewitt was walking in the roadway and was hit by a 2025 Freightliner tanker truck that was traveling south on Highway 501, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said. The highway patrol said later that she might have been run over by vehicles after the initial collision. * * * Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Erie County's drug deaths, while still high, dropped by 40% in 2024 over previous year
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced May 14 that, based on data, predicted drug-related deaths nationwide decreased by nearly 27% over 2023 on average. The news was a little better closer to home. According to 2024 Erie County death statistics recently released by county Coroner Lyell Cook, there were 73 drug deaths in the county last year, down 40% from the 122 drug deaths in 2023. It was the lowest number of drug-related deaths in the county since 59 were recorded in 2015, the first year Cook highlighted fatal overdoses as a separate category in his annual statistical reports released to the media and others. There have been 19 drug-related deaths in the county, through mid-May, so far this year, according to Cook. More: Officials optimistic, but say more work needs to be done, as Erie County drug deaths fall Drug-related deaths in Erie County had grown steadily between 2010 and 2015 before jumping to 80 in 2016, when Cook first listed fentanyl as a contributor in 40% of those deaths. Drug deaths spiked to a record-124 deaths in 2017, and although the numbers fluctuated since then the percentage of fentanyl-related deaths continued to climb from 54% in 2017 to 62% in 2018, 75% in 2020, 80% in 2021 and 84% in 2022, according to Coroner's Office data. Fentanyl's involvement slipped to 83% in 2023 and to 71% in 2024, while cocaine's involvement grew from 24% in 2023 to 30% last year, according to Cook's figures. The CDC, in its May 14 statement on the provisional 2024 overdose death data, stated that since President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency in 2017, congressional support has enabled the agency to expand critical data systems and strengthen overdose prevention capacity across all states. Those investments empowered the CDC to rapidly collect, analyze and share actionable data, enabling communities to better understand the specific drivers of overdose in their areas and tailor prevention strategies to meet their needs, the agency reported. Despite the improvements, according to the CDC, overdose remains the leading cause of death for Americans 10 to 44 years old. Cook, in his annual reports, does not break down the leading causes of death for different age groups, but stated in his 2024 report that the age range of fatal overdose victims in Erie County was 17 to 66 years old, with more than two-thirds of the victims male. The age range narrowed from 2023, when Cook said the victims were between 15 and 80 years old. PennDOT: Traffic fatalities statewide decline in 2024 as crash deaths climb in Erie County Among the other types of deaths in Erie County that decreased in 2024 over the previous year, according to Cook's data, were homicides, which dropped from 17 in 2023 to 14 last year; and suicides, which decreased from 51 to 36 in 2024. Accidental deaths involving pedestrians also decreased, from eight in 2023 to six in 2024, while fatal motorcycle accidents increased by one to 13 and the number of motor vehicle deaths increased by five to 23, according to Cook's data. Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@ Follow him on X @ETNhahn. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie County's 2024 drug deaths down by 40% from 2023
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Menlo Park John Doe identified after 40 years
MENLO PARK, Calif. - Authorities have identified the remains of a man found in Menlo Park in 1985 as 20-year-old Brian Edward Jones. What we know Jones was last seen alive by his family while leaving for work in December 1984. Officials with San Mateo County's Coroner's Office said Jones was a San Jose resident. The 20-year-old's remains were discovered in a part of Menlo Park that was undeveloped on April 15, 1985. Dig deeper On Oct. 26, 2023, Jones' remains were exhumed by the San Mateo County Coroner's Office, and DNA was submitted to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a database maintained by the FBI to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in solving crimes. A routine search of CODIS yielded a potential biological relationship between Jones' remains and a sample submitted during a missing person report taken in 2016, officials said. Officials did more testing and last month, the coroner's office learned the comparison strongly showed a familial relationship between the sample and Jones' remains. The San Mateo County Coroner's Office informed Jones' next of kin about the positive identification on Tuesday. What we don't know It's unclear how Jones died. Authorities didn't say if foul play is suspected in his death or if they opened an investigation. KTVU reached out to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and Coroner's Office for more information but did not hear back in time for this report. The Source The San Mateo County Coroner's Office, California Office of the Attorney General
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
San Francisco leaders inspired by European city to end fentanyl crisis
SAN FRANCISCO - A city in Switzerland is the latest inspiration for San Francisco leaders working towards tackling the drug crisis. The backstory In the 1980s and 1990s, Zurich was a hotspot for the HIV/AIDS crisis and rampant public drug use. The city created the Four Pillars approach, a strategy aimed at tackling the issues, and was largely successful. San Francisco leaders think the Four Pillars strategy could pave the way for a safer future for the city. Overdose deaths in San Francisco climbed between January and March 2025, increasing by 50%. A report by the Coroner's Office found nearly 200 drug-related deaths, with fentanyl being the most-used drug. In a report initiated by former Supervisor Dean Preston, the four pillars are identified as prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and law enforcement. "All of these pillars are integral to their strategy of reducing public drug use, reducing overdose rates, getting people connected to the help that they need," said Supervisor Jackie Fielder. She said there are already steps being made towards the goal, but there are areas to improve. San Francisco police officers are part of the outreach teams on the streets. Narcan is used to save drug users from overdosing, and there are some shelter beds, but it's not enough. "There is not enough capacity with our limited resources either in our public safety system, criminal justice system, or treatment system, so we need to figure out what to do with those people in the meantime," she said. Fielder said the hearing brought to light the fact that drug users are often arrested, cited, and released instead of being brought to shelters or treatment. Along with stricter enforcement, an addiction expert at the University of California San Francisco, Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, said the city should provide supervised consumption spaces, a method tried and abandoned in the past. "There are 200 around the world. No one has ever died in one, and people can consume drugs there safely under medical supervision," he said. "Overdoses go down, hospitalization utilization goes down, arrests go down, public nuisance goes down, and health goes up." The approach also calls for sobering centers and access to safe supplies and syringes. However, there is one pillar Fielder said San Francisco is missing: prevention, which includes identifying risk factors and education. "What can we do about childhood trauma? What can we do about adverse childhood experiences?" Ciccarone asked. Homelessness advocate and business owner Christin Evans, who is also part of the Homeless Oversight Commission, said to address the drug crisis, the city needs to provide more affordable housing and mental health services. "When they go into a shelter placement, a lot of times what happens is they are exited to the street because of behavioral issue," she said. What's next Dr. Ciccarone said it could take a few years to coordinate existing programs and implement the approach. "It took the Zurich folks months, perhaps even a couple years, to come together across the different philosophies so that public safety really worked with the doctors and public health," he said. Fielder said this is just the start of an ongoing conversation to coordinate city efforts. Earlier this week, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced that more than $27 million will go towards mental health and addiction treatment. KTVU reached out to his office for a comment about the Four Pillars strategy, but did not immediately hear back.
