PENNSYLVANIA (WKBN) – A 5-year-old called 911 after his parents overdosed in Sharon, Pennsylvania on Saturday night. Both parents are still alive after help from Sharon Police.
Police said around 10 p.m. on Saturday, Mercer County Dispatch received a call from a 5-year old saying his parents weren’t waking up.
Sharon Police responded to the apartments off Connelly Boulevard. They found the 5-year-old outside, who guided them to his family’s room.
“The child was very level-headed — very calm demeanor,” said Sharon Police officer Andrew O’Shall. “I was thoroughly surprised.”
Once inside, police found both parents had overdosed.
EMS revived the father with Narcan. The mother woke up after medics got her attention.
O’Shall, the initial responder, said he sees this too often — but this incident really shook him because of the young child.
“I think this one is going to stick with me a little more,” he said. “Just the fact that it was a 5-year-old that watched his parents overdose in front of him and could have potentially died had he not called.”
Children & Youth Services is investigating the case. O’Shall believes the child is with his grandmother.
Last Thursday, Sharon city council passed that all police officers will carry Nalaxone during their shifts as a resource to fight the heroin epidemic.
“Opiate addictions are on the rise,” O’Shall said. “Overdoses are almost daily in the area.”
O’Shall says he can’t even count how many overdoses he has responded to — and he’s only been with the department for three-and-a-half years.
The Sharon department is currently implementing the training phase for Nalaxone and will have it in-cruiser in a week.