NEW HAVEN — Officials say a Southern Connecticut State University student found unresponsive in his campus apartment died of a drug overdose from a substance similar to the opioid fentanyl.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. James Gill said Ray Lucas, a junior and sports management major from New Jersey, died from the effects of para-Fluorobutyryl Fentanyl, which is a fentanyl analog.
Gill tells the New Haven Register the drug is like fentanyl, but its chemical attachments make it structurally different. The student’s manner of death has been ruled accidental.
University spokesman Patrick Dilger described the out-of-state junior as a “vibrant and popular student.”
Dilger says the university is committed to educating students on drug use and informing them of available resources and treatment.
SCSU President Joe Bertolino said “Ray was a vibrant and well-liked member of the campus community. Our deepest sympathies are extended to his family and friends on this untimely loss.”
