Wood County Coroner: 2021 saw rise in drug deaths

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - Thursday at Wood County Commission, Wood County Coroner Michael St. Clair presented the 2021 coroner’s report.

According to his report, numbers were down in Wood County for many causes of death...

Those causes were homicide, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, drowning, fire, and falls.

In total, St. Clair reported 198 consults.

He explains that not all deaths lead to a coroner consult...

“Basically,” St. Clair says, “if it’s a natural death – somebody that has metastatic cancer, heart disease, other natural phenomena... COVID was considered a natural phenomenon – those are not reported to the coroner’s office.”

The largest spike was in the number of reported deaths attributed to drugs.

He reported 56 deaths, up from 31 deaths in 2020.

This number is higher than any of the previous six years.

Other areas of increase were deaths caused by suicide (up by 10 deaths), motor vehicle crashes (up by one death), and alcohol (up by one death).

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