Heroin overdoses are on the rise in a North Carolina town, three of which caused car crashes in a single week. Police say that intoxicated drivers high on the illegal drug caused three separate crashes in the small city of High Point this past week.
High Point, known as the furniture capital of America, has a serious problem with opiate addiction. The city saw double the number of heroin overdoses in 2016 than in the previous year.
Speaking to the press (via WNCN), Police Captain Michael Kirk said that no one was seriously injured in any of the crashes, but noted that two of the vehicles involved had children on board.
In one crash, officers responding to the scene discovered the driver and co-passenger passed out in the front seats with two children in the back. Leigh Ann Snipes and Justin Earl Faw crashed into the back of a tractor trailer.
In a crash that happened on Monday, 23-year-old David Presnell II overdosed on heroin and crashed his car with his 14-month-old toddler onboard, who was later taken to hospital for treatment.
Snipes and Faw were both charged with child abuse and possession of drug paraphernalia and their children are now in custody of relatives. Meanwhile, Snipes was charged with a DWI, driving with a revoked license, child restraint, and a movement violation.
The police say that the wrecks happen when drug addicts drive to secluded locations to get high, away from their homes, and get into traffic accidents when they try to drive back under the influence of heroin.
Given the spate of heroin overdoses in High Point, the town should really consider changing its name to something else.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.
