Corey Haim's neighbor, Jim Conessa, told HollywoodLife.com that he still appeared to be alive when he was wheeled into the ambulance earlier today -- an account that is seconded by TMZ.com. That website says that Corey collapsed in front of his mother Judy, after 1 a.m. but didn't die until later at the hospital, at 2:15 a.m.
While it's being widely reported that Corey succumbed to an apparent drug overdose, his case is unusual. Here's why: Usually drug overdose victims who are still breathing when they are found, survive their overdoses. Here's what may have happened instead to Corey, according to an NYC internist, Dr. Ronald Minutoli. "Most people who die of an overdose pass away because they stop breathing," he explains. "Most prescription drugs that people overdose on are sedatives or narcotics or alcohol, or a combination thereof and they have a suppressive effect on breathing. In other words, they cause people to stop breathing," he says. (This occurred in the case of Heath Ledger, for example). "If you are discovered and you are still breathing, medical personnel can oxygenate you and can then inject you with a drug called Narcan, which reverses the effects of the narcotics. People in this situation can almost always be saved."
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