Trooper Uses Narcan to Save Driver in Crash

A State Police Trooper used Narcan to save a driver who crashed her vehicle, and was found with a needle still in her arm.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland says the Biddeford woman is lucky to be alive after being found, unresponsive, behind the wheel of her vehicle. It was on Tuesday afternoon when she drove her car into guardrails at the South Portland exit of the Maine Turnpike. When Trooper Jesse Duda arrived at the accident scene, he found the woman unconscious, slumped over her steering wheel, with a needle sticking out of her arm. He gave the 33-year-old two doses of NARCAN and she was revived before being transported to the hospital. The woman was not charged and her name is not being released. Police say damage to the car was minor.

NARCAN is the brand name for Naloxone, which is a nasal spray that helps reverse an opioid overdose and is available at most Maine pharmacies without a prescription. More information about Naloxone can be found on a website set up by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.