ST. LOUIS — A photo of an apparent overdose in St. Louis is going viral on Facebook. It's causing a lot of outrage and questions.
It shows a driver slumped over at the wheel on an I-44 on-ramp at Arsenal. Paramedics said that driver was able to drive off on his own after being revived.
Chris Connor, the Good Samaritan who first came upon the scene, said that he was approaching the entrance to I-44, when he saw a stopped car, completely blocking the on-ramp, during one of the busiest hours of the day, lunchtime.
“I called my sister on the phone and she couldn’t believe I was that calm,” Connor explained. “Because she’s a paramedic and she walked me through what to do, rubbing his sternum, and things like that.”
St. Louis Fire and Paramedics showed up and administered Narcan, to reverse the effects of the opioid overdose. They said the driver became fully alert and was able to hold a normal conversation.
“It's a pretty thorough interview, where you are, what is your date of birth, things of that nature, to establish a level of consciousness, and once they can communicate, they are able to sign a release,” explained Captain Garon Mosby with the St. Louis Fire Department.
But it's what happened next that had many people sounding off on Facebook after Chris posted about the experience. Many people wanted to know why this driver was able to continue on his way without any consequences.
Captain Mosby said once the driver is deemed alert and fully conscious, he or she can refuse to be taken to the hospital and paramedics cannot force them to go. Fire and EMS encourage the person to seek out the help that he or she needs to overcome the addiction.
St. Louis Police are not routinely dispatched to overdoses unless they need to be. For example, if the person or the situation could be a violent one.
"We show up on your worst day,” said Captain Mosby. “So, how you got there is of no concern to us, we're there to save a life, and that’s what we do."
Mosby also said that, without Connor’s intervention, the scene on that I-44 on-ramp could have turned out differently.
"If he would have made it onto 44, he could have killed a family of five, six, seven or eight easily, because he would have been sideways,” explained Connor.
Connor was inspired to raise money for the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. There is a link to the fundraiser on Connor’s Facebook page.
