Coronial
NSWcommunity

Inquest into the death of AAB

Deceased

AAB

Demographics

26y, male

Date of death

2023-04-25

Finding date

2023-11-07

Cause of death

acute cocaine and alcohol toxicity

AI-generated summary

AAB, a 26-year-old man with a history of substance abuse and mental health issues, died from acute cocaine and alcohol toxicity while in police custody. He presented to a hotel with agitated, paranoid behaviour and was detained by NSW Police after cocaine was found on his person. He then experienced seizures followed by cardiorespiratory arrest. Expert evidence confirmed the police officers' response was exemplary and appropriate throughout, including seizure management, airway positioning, and timely resuscitation. The death was not preventable—it resulted from acute toxicity from self-administered cocaine combined with alcohol, with no identifiable failures in police or emergency medical care. The case demonstrates the challenges in recognising acute cocaine toxicity in non-clinical settings.

AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.

Specialties

emergency medicinetoxicologyneurologyintensive careparamedicine

Drugs involved

cocainealcohollevamisolediazepam

Clinical conditions

cocaine toxicityalcohol intoxicationseizurescardiorespiratory arrestcardiac arrhythmiaaspirationsubstance use disorder

Procedures

cardiopulmonary resuscitationrecovery position placementlaryngeal mask airway insertionendotracheal intubationintravenous cannulationnasogastric tube insertionadrenaline administrationLUCAS device application

Contributing factors

  • self-administered cocaine use
  • concurrent alcohol intoxication (blood alcohol level 0.137 g/100ml)
  • cocaine-induced seizures
  • cardiorespiratory arrest
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