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Coroner: Columbus-Area Drug Overdose Deaths Still Rising

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – The coroner for the county that includes Ohio’s capital city says the number of fatal overdoses during the first nine months of 2019 grew from the total for the same period in 2018.

Franklin County Coroner Anahi Ortiz on Monday reported that her office recorded 421 drug deaths through September 2019.

The coroner says that’s a 15% increase from the same nine months last year. She says overdose deaths continue to be driven by opioids and especially by fentanyl.

The coroner also says the victims were individuals who died in the county but may have lived elsewhere.