Bartender and customer collapse in bar and die of suspected overdose, Indiana cops say
A bartender and customer are among three people who died from suspected overdoses in a single day in one Indiana town, reports say.
Police officials described the three deaths Thursday, April 20, in Lawrence as “unusual,” according to WTHR.
Video footage from the Sports Page Lounge shows the bartender and customer collapse while inside the bar, WXIN reported. They both died at a hospital.
“For both of them to not be here today is really tough and it will probably stick with us forever,” Sports Page Lounge owner Dennis Lugar told WRTV. “I just want to hopefully figure out what happened and hold somebody accountable.”
The bartender was identified as 44-year-old Shawn Abel and the customer as 60-year-old Jeffery Belttari, according to WXIN.
The bar closed Thursday and Friday. When it reopened, a “Pray for the Page” banner was visible outside the bar.
An hour before the incident, Lawrence police found two men unresponsive in a car in a park, WTHR reported. One of the two men died, and the other is expected to recover, according to the station.
Fentanyl was present in drugs found at the scene, WRTV reported.
It’s unclear if the three deaths are connected.
Lawrence Police Chief Gary Woodruff could not definitively describe the Sports Page deaths as drug overdoses, but called them “suspicious,” WXIN reported.
Lawrence, with a population of 49,357 as of 2021, is about 10 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
