Auto Mechanic Joseph Andrade, 44, and his 22-year-old son, Carlos, lost their lives soon after excusing themselves from the festivities by telling people they were stepping out to smoke cigarettes.
Perplexed friends and family are left trying to figure out why Carlos, who was not known to use drugs, joined his father, a reputed addict, in taking some powerful opiates, apparently snorting a mix of heroin and fentanyl.
Carlos, a Maryland resident had driven up to join up with the rest of the family for the birthday bash with his girlfriend Jasmin, and their children, ages 1 and 4, a relative said.
“Jasmin found Carlos dying,” a cousin, Sonia Santos said.
Carlos, his face turning purple as he asphyxiated, was discovered by Jasmin, just inside the foyer of his father’s building just after 3 a.m.
“She screamed and tried to help him. She said he was turning blue,” according to Sonia.
The father was found a few feet away, outside the building on 27th Street near Fourth Avenue in Greenwood, according to cops.
The distraught women called 911 and responding officers administered Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of an overdose.
intervention came too late. Father and son later died at Lutheran Medical.
Acquaintances said Joseph, who worked on and off as an auto mechanic, may have struggled with addiction.
“The father had a problem,” one neighbor divulged. “People knew. I was surprised Carlos was involved. He was a good son.”
“That building was always fine until recently,” another resident lamented. “We’ve never had anything like this before, but lately there’s been a lot of men, drinking, getting drunk outside, late into the night.”
The deaths are under investigation and cause will be established when the medical examiner’s office submits the autopsy reports.