Peggy Wright

@PeggyWrightDR

MORRIS PLAINS - Quick action by a QuickChek manager, Morris Plains police and a Morris County assistant prosecutor saved a 35-year-old woman who was overdosing on heroin in a bathroom of the convenience store on West Hanover Avenue.

The episode that started unfolding around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday at the busy store was the first time Morris Plains officers used Narcan, which counters the effects of opioids in overdose cases. And it was the first time that county Chief Assistant Prosecutor Bradford Seabury — the office's Narcan coordinator, who conducts heroin seminars in the community in conjunction with other experts — actually saw Narcan being used to save a life.

Seabury said he had stopped at the QuickChek on Wednesday to grab a soda and an energy bar but couldn't find a can or bottle on the shelves, so he grabbed a fountain soda, which spilled all over his shirt. He found that both bathrooms were locked and heard the sound of something falling inside one bathroom. Store manager Anthony Narel was near the bathroom, and he and Seabury decided to break into the room with a screwdriver when no one responded to their knocks or calls.

"I'm yelling 'You OK?' and said 'We're going to come in,’ ” said Seabury, who credited the store manager and the police for staying calm and professional. He called it a "collective response" but an experience that for him was "surreal."

Narel got the door open, and they found an unresponsive, blue-faced woman in the bathroom. A needle was on the floor. Seabury said that because of his experience educating the community and prosecuting drug cases, he'd feared even before the door was opened that a person had chosen the bathroom to get high.

Seabury said he ran to his car to retrieve a pocket mask used for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation but didn't need it, as Morris Plains police officers arrived and put an air bag over the woman's face as they administered Narcan. The woman started breathing again, and her color started coming back.

Morris Plains Police Chief Jason Kohn said he is thrilled that his patrolmen — Nicholas Grawehr and Michael Kelly — were able to revive the woman, who was brought to a hospital and is doing well. Kohn said the woman is 35 years old.

"They were very happy they brought her back, but it's bittersweet," Kohn said. "We don't want to have to use it (Narcan), but it's another tool for us."

Narel declined to comment and referred calls to QuickChek Senior Vice President Michael Murphy, who praised the actions of Narel and the others involved.

"Anthony kept his cool and he did a great job, and thank God the police came right away," Murphy said.

Seabury said that the number of times police in Morris County use Narcan is rising.

Throughout 2015, police in the county "reversed" the effects of heroin and brought a person back from a potential fatal overdose 44 times. At least 43 deaths were attributed in 2015 to heroin overdoses, Seabury said, noting that the qualifier "at least" was added because some causes of deaths may still be pending toxicology tests.

In just five months of this year, police have logged 49 overdose reversals — more than occurred in all of 2015. So far this year, Seabury said, at least 19 deaths in Morris County have been attributed to heroin overdoses.

Next Tuesday — June 7 — Seabury and Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp will provide an overview of the heroin and opiate epidemic to the community at the Morris Hills High School auditorium, 520 West Main St., Rockaway. The event is from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with audience members welcome to ask questions and participate in the discussion.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@gannettnj.com