Reply
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — Police are investigating a possible overdose death in Cleveland Heights.
A 45-year-old woman was found dead inside a home in the Forest Hill neighborhood on Tuesday morning. She was taken to the hospital at 2:43 a.m. by the Cleveland Heights Fire Department but later died.
Cleveland Heights Police Chief Annette Mecklenburg said they believe the woman died of an overdose. Investigators are waiting on a toxicology report from the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's office.
Subscribe
Detectives are still investigating the woman's death.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a sharp increase in overdose deaths in Ohio, according to a recent report from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. During the second quarter of 2020, Ohio's death rate from opioid overdoses jumped to 11.01 per 100,000 people — the highest rate seen in a decade. The previous 10-year high was in the first quarter of 2017, when opioid overdoses effected 10.87 people per 100,000.