Pubdate: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 Source: News & Observer (NC) Copyright: 2001 The News and Observer Publishing Company Contact: http://www.news-observer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/304 Author: Angela Heywood Bible Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?186 (Oxycontin) OVERDOSE SUSPECTED IN DEATH Victim ID'd As UNC Senior CARRBORO -- Police are investigating the possibility that a 20-year-old UNC student found dead Friday morning at his Carrboro residence died from a cocaine overdose or from a deadly mix of cocaine and another drug, such as the prescription painkiller OxyContin. Authorities on Sunday identified the victim as Daniel Scott Walker, a senior journalism and economics major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was found dead about 10:30 a.m. in his upstairs bedroom at 92 Pine Hill Drive, Capt. Joel Booker said. Police found drugs in Walker's room, Booker said. After interviewing some of Walker's friends, police suspect the student may have ingested cocaine mixed with another drug. Last year, 21 people died from OxyContin overdoses in North Carolina. Although police will have to wait for the toxicology report to know exactly what killed Walker, Booker urged the community to be careful. "We want there to be a certain awareness and concern in the community that there could be some tainted drugs out there," he said. If Walker died from mixed drugs, police wouldn't know whether he bought them that way, Booker said. Booker gave the following account of the events leading to Walker's death: On Thursday night, Walker attended one or more parties at which he drank alcohol. He returned to his off-campus home during the night, made a few telephone calls, and could be heard moving around in his attic bedroom until 5 a.m. When Walker's roommates found his body Friday morning, there were no signs of struggle or foul play, Booker said. Walker's body was taken to the state medical examiner's office in Chapel Hill for an autopsy. On Sunday, no one answered the door at the house where Walker lived. Born in Columbia, S.C., Walker graduated from Hendersonville High, his aunt, Beth Todd, said Sunday. He belonged to Hendersonville First United Methodist Church and Sigma Nu fraternity and was an avid hiker. He is survived by his parents and his 26-year-old brother. Sue Kitchen, vice chancellor for student affairs at UNC, said she can't recall a student death caused by drugs in her five years at the university. "Certainly this is a tragedy to lose such a young life," Kitchen said. "We're still waiting for information." The university runs a Center for Healthy Student Behaviors, where students can find help for drug and alcohol addictions. On Thursday, a China Grove man died of an apparent OxyContin overdose. The drug, a potent painkiller, gives a euphoric high similar to that of heroin. OxyContin abusers often chew the tablets or crush the tablets and snort the powder, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center. The maker of OxyContin has been hit with at least 13 lawsuits from people who say they have become addicted to the painkiller and others who want to hold the company responsible for an alarming wave of overdoses and deaths among abusers. Many of the plaintiffs say they received OxyContin legitimately and became addicted by taking the prescribed dose. Other lawsuits seek to hold the company responsible for illegal use of the drug, which has become a deadly scourge in some parts of the country. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth