A man has died and three other people were hospitalized after a fentanyl overdose in Lakewood, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
At about 1 a.m. Sunday, first responders were dispatched to a home in the 6600 block of Dillman Street after receiving a call that four people had stopped breathing due to a possible overdose of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that can cause respiratory failure, according to the report. The authorities reported.
A man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Sheriff's Department. Three other adults were taken to hospital and their condition remains unclear.
Authorities will need to wait for laboratory tests to confirm whether the overdoses were the result of fentanyl, which has been responsible for rising death tolls locally and across the country.
In 2022, fentanyl became the most common cause of accidental drug overdose deaths in Los Angeles County, surpassing methamphetamine, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. More than 1,900 people died countywide from fentanyl overdoses that year.
