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19-year-old San Jose woman dies after suspected accidental fentanyl overdose
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19-year-old San Jose woman dies after suspected accidental fentanyl overdose

(KRON) – A San Jose family is mourning the deaths of their beloved daughter and sister after she died of a suspected fentanyl overdose. The mother of 19-year-old Crystal Martinez told KRON4 she doesn’t believe her daughter knew the pill she took contained the lethal drug.

Martinez died on Saturday, November 9, after coming home from work.

Her mother, Estela Martinez-Mendoza, said she was lying on the couch when her 11-year-old daughter approached her to tell her Crystal was asleep and wouldn’t wake up. Martinez-Mendoza went to check on her and couldn’t even wake her up. She performed CPR and called 911. Paramedics pronounced Crystal dead.

According to Martinez-Mendoza, Crystal got a pill from a friend after she told them she had a headache. When officers arrived at the scene, they told Martinez-Mendoza they found pills that looked like Tylenol but suspected they contained fentanyl.

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Martinez-Mendoza is still trying to figure out exactly who gave her daughter the pill. She is waiting to hear back from the San Jose Police Department about its investigation.

“To be honest, I don’t think he knew what he was taking, because throughout the week he told me he felt overwhelmed,” Martinez-Mendoza told KRON4.

Crystal had two jobs – as a janitor and at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse. Her mother described her as strong, loving and caring. Before her death, Crystal had planned a “sister date” with her 11-year-old sister at the mall.

“Crystal was a very happy person. Always caring. She loved taking care of the elderly,” Martinez-Mendoza said.

After her daughter’s tragic death, Martinez-Mendoza has a message for other parents — always keep your children close, even as they grow into adulthood.

“We have to be very careful with our children, with our teenagers, even if they are 18 or 19 years old. We have to be careful and see who they’re sitting with, sit with their kids,” Martinez-Mendoza said. “Check their backpacks, purses, cell phones.”

Mendoza-Martinez established a GoFundMe for Crystal’s funeral expenses.

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