Why Opioid Users Overdosing In Cars Is 'New Norm': They're More Likely To Survive

It's another day and there's another photo going viral of a woman who overdosed with her child in the backseat. Cops and other experts say it's a common scene because an overdose is more likely to be fatal at home where there's a chance no one would find them for days.

When police officers found Erika Hurt, she was sitting in the driver's seat of her car, still holding a syringe in her left hand. Her mouth was open and her head was tilted back, the police photo shows. And her 10-month-old son was restrained in a car seat in the back, according to police. (Guerra, 10/27)

In other news on the epidemic —

As communities throughout the Granite State continue to struggle with an unprecedented number of drug overdoses, Merrimack is no exception. Situated between two of the state’s largest cities — Manchester and Nashua — the problem is difficult to escape, said officer Christopher Dowling of the Merrimack Police Department. “As a police officer, I see the end result of addiction,” Dowling told members of the Greater Manchester and Nashua Board of Realtors, who gathered at the Merrimack Public Library this week to receive an update on the war against heroin. In 2015, there were 439 drug deaths reported in New Hampshire, which included 397 deaths associated with heroin and opioids, according to Dowling. (Houghton, 10/27)

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