A lethal hit of ecstasy was to blame for the death of a man during a rash of overdoses in Chase, B.C. last year, a coroner's report said Monday.
A toxicology report showed Christopher John Henry, 19, had a deadly amount of ecstasy in his system when paramedics and RCMP were called to a home on Jan. 5, 2009.
Emergency responders found Henry in a state of delirium. He had smoked marijuana, taken ecstasy and consumed about eight litres of water, coroner Gail Holotuk said in the report.
The paramedics struggled to get him onto a stretcher and into an ambulance and when he worked his way free of the stretcher's seatbelts the ambulance pulled over and the police were called, who put Henry in handcuffs.
Holotuk said Henry suffered a cerebral edema resulting from excessive water intake and an overdose of ecstasy. He was declared brain dead on Jan. 7, 2009, and taken off life support.
She said the paramedics were inexperienced and had not treated an ecstasy overdose before. They were also not familiar with the restraint devices in the ambulance.
But the pathologist and medical specialists believe Henry's chance of recovery was slim following his collapse. Holotuk said any actions the paramedics took did not contribute to his death.
At least two other people overdosed on a narcotic during the same period in the Chase area.
