Close call for ZBT members

By: Stacey Sakai Beth Farnsworth
Posted: Mar 01, 2018 11:15 PM PST
Updated: Mar 05, 2018 08:58 AM PST

Nine people some UCSB students are…
ISLA VISTA, Calif. – UPDATE: NewsChannel 3 has learned that of the nine people taken to the hospital Thursday night, seven of them suffered overdoses. The incident happened along the 6500 block of Del Playa Drive at a residence where a number of senior members of the Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) Fraternity live.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s officials confirm there were roughly 20 people at the residence at the time and that all of the patients needing medical attention were male. The majority of them are UCSB students.

Their ages and exactly what type of drug they overdosed on were not released, however, Kelly Hoover, spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed that each patient had “ingested a blue pill.”

Officials said the call came in at about 10:30 Thursday night when the caller reported one person at the home may have overdosed.

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When deputies arrived they found an unconscious male lying in the backseat of a vehicle. His housemates claimed he’d ingested an unknown amount of alcohol and Oxycontin, a prescription pain reliever.

Within a span of minutes, deputies and Santa Barbara County Fire and AMR personnel found nine patients suffering from some sort of medical emergency when they arrived on scene — three were unconscious. An Isla Vista resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said that of the nine people, seven suffered overdoses.

Narcan, a nasal spray that counteracts the life-threatening effects of a drug overdose was used on one of the victims, according to the Sheriff’s Office.