Wareham Overdose Victim Faces Heroin Charge

Wareham Police smashed the window of a pickup truck to rescue an overdose victim passed out behind the wheel at a shopping plaza and now the 28-year-old Yarmouth man faces drug and motor vehicle charges.

Monday at about 10:45 a.m., Wareham officer Nate Aronson responded to Wareham Crossing and found an unresponsive man in a locked and running truck on the main roadway in the shopping plaza, the department said in a media release.

Police Chief John Walcek stopped to assist and broke out the passenger side window. The vehicle started to roll, and Officer Aronson smashed the driver-side window in order to cut the ignition. The officers pulled the man from the truck, administered Narcan, and initiated rescue breathing before Wareham EMS and Fire arrived. The man was transported to Tobey Hospital for further evaluation, the police department said.

The man, who was not identified, was summoned to court for operating under the influence, operating to endanger. Another charge was subsequently added: possession of a Class A drug.

Later in the day, Wareham Police responded to a local business for a report of a suspicious person. Officers determined it was the same man they had rescued earlier. Officers Charles Pillsbury and Stephen Joy located suspected heroin on the man, along with a needle, the media release said.