Man charged with possession of ‘gray death' drug in Carroll County

CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. — Villa Rica police are crediting an officer’s quick thinking and observation for saving the life of a man who they said used a combination of deadly drugs.

Police said they were called just before 4 p.m. Wednesday to McDonald’s on Highway 61 after an unconscious driver hit a parked vehicle.

Villa Rica police Officer Chris Rowen noticed a plastic bag with gray powder on the driver’s floorboard.

The powder was consistent with how heroin is packaged and sold.

Carroll County fire officials responded and administered Narcan to the driver to counteract the drug.

He was taken to the emergency room at Tanner Medical Center.

Police said the substance was likely a mixture of heroin and fentanyl, also known as “gray death,” which has been responsible for deaths across the nation.

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The driver, identified as Kenneth Patterson, 47, of Katy, Texas, was charged with DUI and possession of a controlled substance.

He was taken to the Carroll County Jail after he was released from the hospital.

“It is only due to Officer Rowen’s observation in locating the substance and the quick action of the Carroll County Fire Department that another death was avoided due to this drug,” Capt. Keith Shaddix said.

Cox Media Group