Multiple law enforcement agencies are investigating a fatal overdose that occurred in Leitchfield early Saturday morning.
Saturday morning at approximately 1:00, the Leitchfield Police Department was dispatched to a residence in the 600 block of Salt River Road to perform a welfare check on a 39-year-old Leitchfield man. Upon Leitchfield police Detective Kevin Smith and Officer Tim Moutardier arriving at the home no one answered the door.
Police, though, quickly gained approval from a family member to force entry into the residence, and upon entering, police immediately requested EMS personnel, who arrived within minutes. Soon after, the Grayson County Coroner’s Office was requested at the scene, with Deputy Coroner Larry Holeman arriving and pronouncing the man deceased.
The Greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force (GHCNTF) was also summoned the scene, as that agency, along with Leitchfield police, questioned at least one person well into Saturday morning about the fatal overdose.
The victim’s body was transported to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Louisville for autopsy.
The GHCNTF, Leitchfield PD and the Grayson County Coroner’s Office are investigating the death.
It’s unclear at this point whether this fatal event is related to a rash of five non-fatal overdoses in less than eight hours in Leitchfield on June 5, or the four fatal overdoses in Breckinridge County over a four week period from early May to early June.
The overdoses in Leitchfield appear to have been opioid overdoses, as Narcan, an opioid reversal agent, was successfully administered in several of the cases. The fatal Breckinridge County overdoses were attributed to heroin (an opioid) and methamphetamine, according to the Breckinridge County Coroner’s Office.
Furthermore, Breckinridge County officials said the powerful pain reliever fentanyl (also an opioid) was found in the systems of some of the fatal overdose victims.
Grayson County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Fred Norder assisted at the Salt River Road scene.
K105 will have more information on this story as it becomes available.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
