Posted on: July 23, 2024, 07:12h.
Last updated on: July 23, 2024, 07:12h.
The father of the man who died from an apparent fentanyl overdose at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun casino is putting much of the blame on employees at the gaming property.
Ethan Bherwani might have survived the May 18, 2021 incident if responses by the tribal casino were quicker, his father, Kamal Bherwani, a one-time New York City public official, recently told The New York Post.
The younger Bherwani, 22 at the time, was at the casino celebrating his college graduation.
Suddenly, he fell out of a chair at a blackjack table. He was on the floor, not moving.
But neither dealers nor pit bosses, nor any other casino employees intervened.
Four and a half minutes later, a casino employee finally checked on the stricken man. Some 11 minutes after the man first fell out of the chair, EMTs finally arrived to examine and treat Bherwani, the Post reported.
The crew tried to administer CPR but they couldn’t revive him.
Man Was Brain Dead
He was transported to nearby Hartford Hospital. Doctors said he was brain dead and nine days later he passed away.
If they had gotten to him in three minutes, he’d be completely alive,” Kamal Bherwani told the Post.
Exams showed that he had consumed fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol that night before passing out.
It was also revealed that unnamed casino visitors attempted to assist Bherwani while he was on the floor. But Mohegan Sun employees ordered the good Samaritans to move away from the man, the Post reported.
Kamal Bherwani filed a lawsuit against Mohegan Sun. It claims the casino was negligent. It was dismissed by a Connecticut tribal court. A new lawsuit could be filed, the Post reported.
My son was going to law school. He was cooped up during the pandemic and celebrating his graduation; he made a mistake … but it should not have cost him his life,” his father further told the reporter.
Also, Bherwani wants New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, D, to reject the Mohegan tribe’s effort to capture a casino license in New York City given how the casino responded in his son’s medical emergency.
Drug Dealer Arrested
Shortly before his death, Ethan Bherwani purchased fentanyl-laced drugs from a man at the casino identified as Jerrard Santiago. He later was arrested.
Santiago has since pled guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, a controlled substance. He has yet to be sentenced to prison.
Casino.org reached out to Mohegan Sun for comment. No immediate statement was provided.