Army Veteran Dies After Years of Huffing

Via the Idaho Statesman:

The Medical Examiner has determined that “toxic asphyxia” was the cause of death of 30 year old Aaron David Draper on August 23.

The article notes the man had started abusing inhalants in the Army, as a release from pain from a wound he suffered in a 2005 explosion in Iraq. “He couldn't kick the habit. He got married and had a baby, but he kept huffing to ease the nightmares he believed post-traumatic stress disorder caused. He quit, got divorced and started again.” In 2011 he told a reporter that he believed he would die if he couldn’t overcome his addiction.

Even after treatment at the US Department of Veterans Affairs in Boise, from April 2011 and February 2012 his arrest record shows 12 huffing related arrests. On one occasion police found him outside a Wal-Mart with dozens of cans of keyboard cleaner surrounding him.

His high school friend first noticed his problem when they “pulled up to the bar and his girlfriend was in sheer panic mode because she couldn’t find him.” He said he had a stomachache and was going to the store to get something for it.  They soon found him behind the bar, passed out after huffing keyboard cleaner. After that friends note his addiction seemed to worsen.

On August 22, his girlfriend dropped him off at the bus station. He was on his way to visit his high school friend. His high school friend texted him to say she would pick him up so he wouldn’t have to take the bus but it was too late. At 6:38 am a county worker noticed his body at the bus stop.

Officers found him “face down against a fence, his skin ashy and discolored.” The police report states that next to him was a can of keyboard cleaner and an opened wrapper for a two-pack of computer duster and the officer wrote "I observed that under the body slightly protruding from under the left side was second matching can. The second can appeared to be in the hand of the deceased."

Reckless Driving And Huffing Behind the Wheel in Texas

Via KBTX in Texas:

A 36 year old man is believed to have jumped a curb and crashed his car into an electrical pole’s guide wires after huffing behind the wheel. A neighbor called police after the driver sped off. Responding to a nearby call for a reckless driver officers found the man passed out in the drivers’ seat of his car. When they approached the heard and saw him huffing from a can. He was booked into jail on a DWI charge.

Florida Man Crashes Car After Huffing Behind the Wheel

Via the Sun Sentinel in Florida:

On Monday, a 23 year old man crashed his car after huffing keyboard cleaner behind the wheel. He passed out, then drove over a sidewalk, through bushes and into three cars in a restaurant parking lot.

Officers found him in the driver’s seat with the engine still running and under the seat they found a can of computer duster.  The man refused treatment but first responders took him to the hospital anyway suspecting a potential head injury.  He was booked into the jail and faces charges of “inhaling a harmful chemical substance and driving on a suspended license.”

South Carolina Woman Dead After Abusing Inhalants

Via KnoxNews in Tennessee:

A 26 year old female in South Carolina was found floating face-down in a fountain in June 2013.  She passed away 13 days later after being hospitalized and the forensic report notes that inhalant abuse was a cause. 

Update: More information on this case via Oak Ridge Today.

Georgia Man Huffs Propane, Burns Self and Burns Down House

Via the Daily Tribune News in Georgia:

This past weekend, a man severely burned himself after huffing propane. As a result his house also burned down and was declared a total loss.

A witness reported the man passed out while huffing propane, leaving the valve on the propane bottle open. When he woke up he lit a cigarette igniting the fire. The man was pulled to safety and suffered bad burns on the front of his body and was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Huffing Suspected in Crash that Kills Two in Indiana

Via the Dubois County Free Press in Indiana:

Huffing is expected as a cause of a crash that caused the loss of two lives this past Saturday morning. An 18 year old male driver crossed the center-line of a highway directly into the path of a 49 year old man. Debris from the crash flew back and hit a car driven by a 76 year old man.  

Both the 18 year old and 49 year old individuals had to be extricated from their vehicles and both men died at the hospital.   The 19 year old and 40 year old passengers in the cars were taken to the hospital and treated for head, facial, and abdominal trauma.

Police Catch Florida Woman Abusing Inhalants

Via the Naples News in Florida:

This past weekend a dputy reported seeing a woman put a can "up to her lips and spray the contents in her mouth." When he questioned her she "jumped, removed the can from her mouth and tried to walk away."

19 Year Old Oregon Teen Dead After Abusing Inhalants

Via KVAL in Oregon:

The family of 19 year old Shayla Ream found her unconscious in her bedroom on December 13^th.  She had vomited and collapsed after huffing keyboard cleaner. Her grandfather attempted CPR until medics arrived but Shayla died at the hospital early the next morning.

Her sister notes “She was "She was starting to become somebody. She was on the right track to go somewhere and be somebody."

New Jersey Man Arrested for Inhalants- Sixth Time in Six Weeks

Via NJ.com in New Jersey:

A 30 year old man was arrested after an inhalant abuse related incident, his sixth inhalant arrest in six weeks.  Police responding to a call of a stolen vehicle found him in the car huffing a can of computer duster that he had allegedly just stolen from a ShopRite. He was charged with receiving stolen property, shoplifting, being disorderly, and huffing. 

New National Inhalant Data: Monitoring the Future Study Shows Decrease in Inhalant Abuse

This morning the National Institute on Drug Abuse released the results of its 2013 Monitoring the Future Study and the results revealed decrease in inhalant use rates for 8th, 10th, and 12th graders

In the chart entitled "Trends in Prevalence of Various Drugs for 8th-Graders, 10th-Graders, and 12th Graders; 2010-2013":

• 8th graders: 2013 Lifetime (10.8%), Past Year [5.2%], & Past Month (2.3%) use rates are the lowest they have been in the past four years.
• 10th graders: 2013 Lifetime (8.7%), Past Year (3.5%), & Past Month (1.3%) use rates are the lowest they have been in the past four years.
• 12th graders: 2013 Lifetime (6.9%) and Past Year use rates are the lowest they have been in the past four years.
• Of the nine categories, only one showed an increase in use rates: 12th grade past month inhalant use increased from 0.90% in 2012 to 1.0% in 2013, the same percentage reporting use in 2011 and still a significant decline from 1.4% in 2010.

Multiple Crashes Caused by Driver Huffing Behind the Wheel in New York

Via CNYCentral in New York:

A 39 year old man was arrested after an inhalant abuse related crash.  He “lost control of the vehicle, then accelerated and crashed into a vehicle that was parked in a driveway and nearly struck a man who was shoveling near the vehicle.”

He then continued to accelerate and crashed into an apartment building, causing major damage before “continuing out of control across the roadway, nearly colliding with another building before coming to a rest.”  The tenants in the apartment building were “trapped inside their apartment for a short while until they could be rescued through a sealed doorway to another adjoining apartment."

When a deputy from the Sheriff’s office responded he found the man huffing from a can of computer duster.  The man responded he was nervous after the crash so he started huffing in order to deal with the stress. He was arrested and taken to a mental health center for evaluation.

Ohio Man charged with huffing-related felony after 2nd incident

Via the Norwalk Reflector in Ohio:

A 21 year old man was arrested after police found him abusing computer dusting spray in a field. A few days earlier police had found him unconscious and then disoriented walking down the street holding a can of keyboard cleaner. In both cases he was charged with abusing harmful intoxicants.

Pennsylvania Mom Found Huffing in Car

Via Lehigh Valley Live in Pennsylvania:

A 30 year old woman was recently sentenced to a year probation in an inhalant abuse incident that occurred last April.

On April 20, Pennsylvania State Police were called to a shopping center for a report of a woman huffing chemicals in her car and passing out. When they responded they found her passed out in the driver’s seat with a bottle of spray cleaner in her left hand.  They knocked on the window, waking her up and when she got out of the car they noticed another can of aerosol cleaner and two cans of cleaning dust spray in the car. They asked her why she was huffing the product and she started crying and said she was “going through a rough time in her life.”

Connecticut Woman Found Huffing Keyboard Cleaner in Staples Bathroom

Via WSFB in Connecticut:

A 44 year old woman was found passed out in a local Staples after allegedly inhaling cans of computer duster in the restroom. She was found with five cans that she had not paid for and was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, sixth-degree larceny and restricted substance.  

The article notes it was the second time she was arrested for abusing inhalants. Previously, she was found huffing computer dusting spray in the restroom of a Burger King.

Florida Man Passes Out in Parking Lot After Abusing Computer Dusters

Via the Ocala Star Banner in Florida:

Police responded to a report of a man passed out in a grassy area of a parking lot and found a 37 year old with a can of computer duster in his right hand. As officers made contact, the man awoke and began to inhale from the can.  He was put into handcuffs and officers found three empty cans of the product nearby.  He was medically evaluated and taken to jail.

Kentucky woman found half nude, huffing hairspray in drugstore restroom

Via WHAS 11 in Kentucky:

A 25 year old woman locked herself in the restroom of a local Walgreens.  Police were called and they found the woman “nude from the waist up, seated on the floor inhaling hairspray from a cloth.” She was taken into custody and charged with public intoxication and shoplifting.   

Ohio Man Passes Out in Street After Huffing Inhalants

Via the Sandusky Register in Ohio:

Police responded to concerns regarding a 21 year old man who was passed out in the street.  By the time officers responded the man had regained consciousness and was walking down the street carrying an aerosol can. He was taken to the hospital for treatment and charged with abusing harmful intoxicants, obstructing official business and resisting arrest.

Michigan Man Crashes Into Fire Hydrant After Abusing Inhalants

Via LivingstonDaily.com in Michigan:

This past Monday a 24 year old man was arrested after he crashed his car in an inhalant abuse related incident. The man passed out behind the wheel in a Kroger parking lot and the car struck a curb and fire hydrant.  

The driver admitted to huffing computer keyboard cleaner and in the car, state troopers found “about 18 cans of compressed gas duster.”  He was booked in to the jail pending arraignment.

Washington Woman Crashes Into Air Force Base After Huffing

Via KHQ in Washington:

A 22 year old woman was charged with “D.U.I. and Reckless Endangerment of a Child” after she lost control of her car and crashed into the fence at Fairchild Air Force Base.  State troopers report the woman had been huffing keyboard cleaner before driving.

Her 14 year old brother had been in the car at the time of the crash. The car was “traveling over 100 miles per hour and he actually had to unbuckle and take control of the car to get it stopped.”