FRANKLIN COUNTY'S GOT A NEW - 
YOUNG 
VICTIM OF THE DRUG EPIDEMIC. THE
COUNTY CORONER ISSUED A REPORT
TODAY SAYING A 38 -WEEK FETUS 
DIED OF A DEADLY COMBINATION OF 
COCAINE,
METHAMPHETAMINE AND FENTANYL
MARK: 
AND I'M MARK TAYLOR.
THIS NEWS COMING ONE DAY AFTER
AN ALERT ABOUT A SURGE IN 
OVERDOSE DEATHS.... AND ONE OF
THEM MAY HAVE BEEN A MAN FOUND
ON
THE SIDE OF A FREEWAY.
NBC4 REPORTER TED HART IS LIVE
TONIGHT WITH AN UPDATE.... TED? 
TED:
THE CORONER YESTERDAY CITED 
SEVEN DEATHS IN A 24 HOUR PERIOD
OVERLAPPING 
MONDAY AND TUESDAY OF THIS WEEK.
TODAY, SHE
SAID THAT NUMBER STANDS AT
EIGHT.
911 
"I SAW WHAT LOOKED LIKE A DEAD
BODY ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE
HIGHWAY"
COLUMBUS POLICE SAY 42 YEAR OLD 
ROBERT
COLEMAN WAS NOT STRUCK BY A 
VEHICLE - 
BUT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN DUMPED 
ON THE
ROAD AFTER DYING FROM AN
OVERDOSE. 
HIS DEATH WAS PART OF A SUDDEN
WAVE OF 
OVERDOSE DEATHS THAT TRIGGERED
AN ALERT
YESTERDAY FROM THE COUNTY 
CORONER. BUT FOR DR. ANAHI ORTIZ
THOUGH - THE DRUG 
CRISIS HIT YET ANOTHER NEW LOW
THIS MORNING -
WHEN SHE SIGNED HER REPORT ON A 
FETUS THAT
DIED BECAUSE OF THE DRUGS 
INGESTED BY ITS 
MOTHER. 
IT HAPPENED IN EARLY JUNE - HERE
OUTSIDE THE 
OPEN SHELTER ON EAST MOUND
STREET. THE MALE
FETUS - FIVE AND A HALF POUNDS, 
18 INCHES LONG, 
WAS DELIVERED WHILE THE MOTHER
WAS 
UNCONSCIOUS...
DR. ANAHI ORTIZ, FRANKLIN COUNTY
CORONER: "AND SHE WAS UNDER THE 
INFLUENCE OBVIOUSLY SO SHE WAS
HIGH AND GAVE BIRTH AND THEN
WHEN SHE CAME TO - THE BABY WAS 
ALREADY BORN" 
DR. ORTIZ SAYS WHEN MEDICS
ARRIVED - THE BABY HAD NO PULSE.
THE TOXICOLOGY REPORT FOUND 
COCAINE,
METHAMPHETAMINE AND FENTANYL "WE
CALLED IT A FETAL DEMISE, YOU 
KNOW BECAUSE WE'RE NOT SURE THAN
THE BABY TOOK A BREATH...BUT
FROM OUR POINT OF VIEW
THE BABY... THAT BABY COULDN'T
HAVE LIVED
WITH THOSE DRUGS IN THERE." 
TED:
THE CASE IS BEING INVESTIGATED
BY
COLUMBUS HOMICIDE - BUT ITS NOT 
CLEAR YET 
WHETHER THE MOTHER WILL BE
CHARGED. LOCAL FOR YOU IN 
COLUMBUS, TED HART
NBC 4.
MARK: 
JUST YESTERDAY, FRANKLIN COUNTY 
HEALTH OFFICIALS ISSUED A 
WARNING ABOUT 
ANOTHER SPIKE IN OVERDOSE 
DEATHS. SEVEN PEOPLE DIED IN
LESS THAN 18 HOURS... 
THE OVERDOSES HAPPENED MAINLY ON
THE 
NORTHEAST AND SOUTH SIDES OF THE
COUNTY. THE CORONER'S OFFICE IS 
TESTING TO SEE IF TH
