Man dies of possible overdose on BART platform in SF
A man died of a possible drug overdose on the BART platform at San Francisco’s Civic Center Station late Friday, authorities said.
The report of a possible overdose came just before midnight, BART spokeswoman Cheryl Stalter said. Officers and medical personnel were unable to revive the man.
Stalter said it is up to the medical examiner to determine the cause of death, but drug paraphernalia was found around the man and foul play is not suspected.
ONE Twitter user described the incident, which happened a few blocks from City Hall, in a post just before 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
“A young man just overdosed and died on the BART platform at the Civic Center,”[ads1]; the person wrote, calling out San Francisco Board of Supervisors and Mayor London Breed. “When is enough ENOUGH?! Guarding a body while I waited for EMTs was not how I planned to end my work night. RIP young man.”
Preliminary data shows 268 people have died of overdoses in San Francisco as of April — a number that puts the city on track to see more than 800 overdose deaths by the end of the year. In 2022, there were 647 overdose deaths in the city.
The overdose epidemic has been largely driven by the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which is 50 times more powerful than heroin.
Reach Danielle Echeverria: danielle.echeverria@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @DanielleEchev
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