HACKENSACK, N.J. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Five women working at an upscale New Jersey mall overdosed on fentanyl Wednesday but were revived by emergency responders, police said.
Frightened and frantic mallgoers called 911 around 5:15 p.m. when they saw the women lying on the ground in the parking garage of the Shops at Riverside in Hackensack.
Police described the women as unresponsive, while witnesses said they were “out of it” and “very sick” from the potent painkiller.
The women, ranging in age from 29 to 41, all work at the Shops at Riverside, officials said.
First responders used CPR and the drug Narcan to revive them.
Four of the women were hospitalized, but the fifth refused to be transported to the hospital, police said. One of them was in serious but stable condition.
Even before first responders arrived, one employee did what he could to help. He said he got CPR recertified just two weeks ago.
“I know when I did approach the one lady, her lips and her hands were kind of blue, so I’m not sure what that’s an indicator of, but the other ladies seemed to be in the same condition, as well,” he told WNBC.
The Shops at Riverside is a high-end mall that includes stores like Coach, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.
Hackensack Mayor John Labrosse called the mass overdose “tragic” and said his office was working with law enforcement as authorities try to find the source of the fentanyl.
“It is truly heartbreaking to see the terrible toll taken by these illicit and dangerous substances,” Labrosse said.
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