Possible Overdose Death Being Investigated In Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, OH — A 27-year-old woman may have overdosed and died in Lakewood over the weekend.

The woman died Friday at the Cleveland Clinic Family Health Center Emergency Room, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's office.

The woman was found inside a Madison Avenue apartment on Thursday night. When officers arrived, the woman was unconscious and not breathing, according to police reports obtained by Patch.

She was rushed to the emergency room, but she died on Friday.

Police said they found 73 pills scattered around the apartment where the woman was found.

Lakewood police said the incident is still being investigated and further details were not yet available.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, opioid overdose deaths surged in Ohio. During the first three-months of the pandemic, the state saw more opioid deaths than at any other time in state history, according to a study commissioned by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

“Opioid overdoses might have taken a backseat in our minds last year because of COVID-19, but make no mistake: Ohioans are dying at a devastating rate because of opioid overdoses,” Yost said.

Prior to the pandemic, Ohio's opioid-related deaths were beginning to decline, the attorney general's study found.