7 People, Including 5 Patrol Officers, Hospitalized Following Suspected Fentanyl Exposure At Crash Site

At least seven people were hospitalized after they were possibly exposed to fentanyl at the scene of an accident near the Golden Gate Bridge in California on Sunday morning.

Those possibly exposed to the opioid include four California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers, a Golden Gate Bridge Patrol Officer, a tow truck driver and the driver of the crashed car.

The patrol officers arrived at the scene Sunday morning after receiving information that a car had collided with the median. The officers found the driver unresponsive. One of the officers who got into the vehicle started feeling "extremely ill and displayed symptoms of a possible fentanyl exposure," Andrew Barclay, with Marin County CHP, told ABC 7.

"Very soon after that he went down and essentially became unresponsive," Barclay told the channel.

Soon, the other officers and the tow truck driver too began displaying symptoms of chemical exposure and they were rushed to a nearby hospital. The officers have since been discharged from the hospital.

"We are glad to report that our four officers along with the Golden Gate Bridge Patrol Officer and tow truck driver have been released from the hospital. They will continue to be monitored but appear to be through the worst of it," the agency said in a Facebook statement.

"Thank you to everyone that has reached out to us with their support and well wishes. It means a lot to our people!" the statement added.

During investigation, authorities found a white powdery substance, believed to be fentanyl, in the car.

Speaking about the opioid, Dr. Anna Lembke, of Stanford University, told the channel that it is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.

"Sadly, there are more opioid overdose deaths caused by Fentanyl today than by any other opioid it has made its way to the illicit market. People are taking it without realize they're taking it. They're buying what they think are pills of pharmaceutical grade opioids or using heroin at a stable dose and in fact that supply has been contaminated with Fentanyl," Dr. Lembke told the channel.

The area surrounding the accident scene was temporality closed due to danger of fentanyl exposure, local television station Kron 4 reported. A Marin HAZMAT team, officials with Marin County Fire and Marin County Sheriff's Office were at the scene to clean up the car.

Investigation into the incident was ongoing. The driver of the crashed car remained in hospital as of Sunday night and his condition was not known.