A New Jersey mother died after she and four others inadvertently overdosed on cocaine laced with fentanyl in the parking lot of the shopping mall where they worked — and two people have been arrested in the terrifying ordeal, according to cops.
According to an online fundraiser set up by Edoo’s family, Michelle Kerry Edoo, 29, of Bergenfield, NJ, died last Saturday.
Edoo died three days after she and four other female mall workers were discovered in the lower level of the parking garage at the Shops at Riverside mall in Hackensack on March 15.
The four other mall employees who were not identified survived.
Bergen prosecutors said the group of friends thought they were ingesting cocaine and were unaware it was laced with a dangerous amount of the opioid fentanyl.
Before first responders arrived, good Samaritans performed CPR on the women and administered Narcan, an overdose-reversing medication.
Four of the victims, aged 29 to 41, were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center for further treatment, while a fifth remained at the scene and declined further medical treatment, according to officials.
Edoo, who worked at the mall’s Cheesecake Factory, was remembered as a devoted mother to her daughter, Ava.
The touching tribute also described her as “always laughing, smiling.”
“She always supported and pushed the people she loved and cared for toward their dreams. She spoke with genuine love and compassion for anyone she spoke with; and was always willing to help with a loving hand or a listening ear,” it continued.
The fundraiser stated that Edoo was working full-time at the Cheesecake Factory but had recently enrolled in nursing school.
Meanwhile, two men from Paterson, New Jersey, were arrested Friday in connection with the overdoses.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Garfield Jones, 48, is charged with third-degree possession with the intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance and third-degree possession of a controlled substance.
Authorities charged Robert McCrae, 52, with third-degree possession with the intent to distribute less than a half-ounce of heroin and fourth-degree possession with the intent to distribute drug paraphernalia.
“We are here to sound the alarm,” Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said at a Friday press conference.
“The death is due to the fentanyl that is pouring into our communities, killing our friends and killing our family members.”
In the fight to reduce fentanyl overdoses, officials said Friday they would work to identify and prosecute drug dealers, suppliers, and traffickers, according to NJ.com.
