Couple overdosing on heroin in car careen into house

A retired Columbus man says he feels lucky to be alive after a car containing an unconscious couple overdosing on heroin careened into his residence.

Arnold Burch, who rents the Bedford stone home at the corner of 19th and Beam streets, said he was sitting in his recliner watching "Shades of Blue" television series a little after 10 p.m. Sunday when he saw headlights shining through his front yard toward his picture window.

The car, traveling an estimated 25 or 30 miles per hour, struck his residence with a loud "boom," shaking the the entire home, Burch said.

When he went outside, Burch said he found the car running and the driver unconscious with his head back, and a woman next to him also unconscious.

"I called 911. I’m still a little shook up about it," he said Monday morning.

Burch was later told by investigators he did the right thing to as they later found two uncapped syringes in the car when the driver and passenger from Edinburgh were removed by first responders.

When officers arrived, they found Dillon M. Goff, 21, 4701 E. County Road 900N, Edinburgh, and passenger Samantha D. Artis, 21, who listed the same address, unconscious in the vehicle, with blue lips and labored breathing, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.

Police believe that Goff and Artis used drug-injection devices to inject heroin while Goff was driving, with both losing consciousness before colliding with the house in the 2900 block of 19th Street, Harris said.

Police suspected the two were overdosing and administered naloxone to both of them, Harris said. Both regained consciousness a short time later and were taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for treatment, Harris said. First responders used two doses of naloxone on Goff and one on Artis, he said.

Burch inquired Monday about whether the couple had survived, and said he was glad they had made it, although the possibility of getting injured or even killed by someone using drugs while driving was unsettling.

Burch was not injured, but the house — owned by Terrence Coriden — had considerable exterior and interior damage, Burch said.

Insurance investigators were scheduled to evaluate the damage on Monday, Burch said. Some electrical breakers were turned off in the home to the structure’s baseboard heat after they were damaged in the collision, he said.

After being released from the hospital, Goff was arrested on a charge of possession of a drug-injection device and operating a vehicle while intoxicated-endangerment, Harris said. Artis was arrested on a charge of possession of a legend drug-injection device, Harris said.

Goff is being held in the Bartholomew County Jail in lieu of $62,500 bond, jail officials said. Artis is being held in jail in lieu of $57,500 bond, jail officials said.