UVic student’s death from fentanyl poisoning to be examined in coroner’s inquest

A BC Coroners Service inquest will be held in the death of a Vancouver Island student who died from a fentanyl overdose last year.

Sidney McIntyre-Starko, 18, a student at the University of Victoria, died in January 2024 of fentanyl poisoning.

McIntyre-Starko died after she and her friend collapsed in a dorm room. Her friend survived.

The public inquest will begin on Mon., April 28 and will determine the facts related to McIntyre-Starko’s death and make recommendations, where appropriate and supported by evidence, to prevent deaths in similar circumstances and to ensure the public that the person’s death will not be overlooked.

1:29 Death of UVIC student prompts calls for change

In an open letter published last May, her mother, who has been an emergency physician for 25 years, said her daughter’s death was preventable.

“Witnesses heard Sidney and another student collapse and did exactly what they were told to do for emergencies at the University of Victoria. They called campus security immediately,” the letter stated.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“Campus security never contacted 911. The only person on campus to contact 911 was an impaired student who had difficulty following simple instructions. Campus security showed up in about 3 1/2 minutes, with enough time to save our daughter.”

However, Caroline McIntyre wrote that the security officers did not administer naloxone until nine minutes after they arrived and started CPR almost 12 minutes after they arrived.

“Sidney was an organ donor five days later,” she wrote.

“Naloxone, when administered quickly, reverses the effect of an opioid overdose. Simple CPR will keep the person alive while waiting for the naloxone to work or waiting for help to arrive.”

In the letter, McIntyre said that along with a coroner’s inquest into her daughter’s death, CPR and naloxone training should be mandatory in the high school curriculum, easy-to-use nasal naloxone should be widely available for free in the province, and nasal naloxone kits should be widely and easily accessible in schools and campuses in B.C.