



MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee County chief medical examiner tells FOX6 News there were eight probable overdose deaths in 24 hours -- and there were six autopsies scheduled Thursday, December 7th.



There were five probable overdose deaths overnight. That's in addition to the three reported cases on Wednesday.



As for the overnight overdoses, three happened at homes near Fond du Lac and Burleigh, near 10th and Concordia and near 28th and Chambers.



"It’s becoming the new norm. Probably a third of the cases this year will be overdoses, and they don’t come through just one at a time. They come through in groups," the medical examiner said. "It’s getting worse and I don’t think we’ve seen the peak of it yet. I think next year will be worse than this year."



The medical examiner said 80 to 90 percent of overdose deaths are the result of opioids.



Three people died of drug overdoses in just a matter of hours in Milwaukee County Wednesday.



The Milwaukee County medical examiner said that’s an unusually high number of overdose deaths in such a short amount of time. All three deaths on Wednesday were unrelated. Two people died in separate hotels (Village Inn near 30th and Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and Whitnall View Hotel on Lovers Lane near Rawson in Franklin, and one person was found dead in a gas station bathroom near Prospect and Kenilworth in Milwaukee.



According to the medical examiner, 354 people died of drug overdoses so far this year, compared to 343 for all of 2016.