Five mall employees found overdosing on fentanyl in a parking garage, NJ officials say

Five women working at a mall were found overdosing on the powerful drug fentanyl in New Jersey, officials say.

Another employee spotted three of the women laying down on the ground of the parking garage at the Shops at Riverside in Hackensack and began performing CPR, NBC New York reported.

“When I approached the one lady, her lips and hands were blue,” the man told the outlet. “The other two ladies were the same as well.”

The five women were revived with the overdose-reversing medication Narcan by first responders, who arrived at the scene alongside Hackensack police, according to officials, WABC-TV reported.

Four of the women were brought to a nearby hospital while the fifth declined to be taken there, police said, according to NJ.com.

How the women became exposed to fentanyl is currently unknown, NBC New York reported.

Fentanyl is a narcotic and synthetic opioid meant to treat severe pain in medical settings, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Fentanyl consumption can be intentional as well as accidental if the drug has been mixed into other illegal substances such as heroin or cocaine.

Now the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office are investigating the overdoses alongside Hackensack police, according to NJ.com.

“We’ve seen the number of overdoses and fatalities in Bergen County rise and rise, largely due to the presence of fentanyl,” Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella told McClatchy News in a statement. “Fentanyl can be in anything — pills, powders, or anything purchased on the street.”

In 2022, Musella said there were over 700 drug overdoses in Bergen county in 2022, with over 175 being fatal. He is urging the public to be aware of the risks of fentanyl.

The prosecutor’s office referred McClatchy News to Hackensack police for more information on the investigation.

McClatchy News contacted police on March 16 and is awaiting a response.

This story was originally published March 16, 2023 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Five mall employees found overdosing on fentanyl in a parking garage, NJ officials say."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.