The family of a young man who died after consuming ecstasy are searching for answers over why his friends did not call an ambulance sooner, an inquest has heard.
Jakub Jarzecki, originally from Italy, had settled in Lancashire and was working at Wellocks in Nelson with his brother-in-law Mateusz. The 21-year-old had just finished a night shift on May 1 when he found out a colleague had been suspended, prompting him and others to go for a drink in case “he never returned”.
The group ended up at a female colleague’s house on Castle Street. After having one drink, Mateusz left but received a distressing call around 8am informing him that Jakub was in trouble.
Upon returning to the house, Mateusz encountered resistance to calling an ambulance from one of the attendees. However, after seeing Jakub’s condition, he urgently said: “Are you f****** mad? He looks like he’s dying.”
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Paramedics were called at 9.32am and discovered Jakub had a dangerously high heart rate of 150 beats per minute, along with elevated temperature and respiratory rate, reports Lancs Live. During the rush to Royal Blackburn Hospital, Jakub experienced seizures and tragically went into cardiac arrest just before reaching A&E.
At the emergency department, doctors performed CPR for 30 minutes on Jakub, while also administering fluids, insulin and dextrose due to his acidic blood. However, as Jakub’s condition worsened, they realised their efforts were in vain and decided to cease resuscitation attempts.
An inquest held today (September 20) at Preston Coroner’s Court heard a statement from Katarzyna, a work friend of Jakub’s, at whose house he had collapsed. “Jakub was a cheerful person who I could joke with but who I could also talk to about serious things,” she said. “At 7pm I started work and one man was suspended from work and sent home.
“We said we should all meet and have a drink as he might not come back to work. After work we went to my house in Nelson.
“Something was happening to Jakub. His eyes were open and he was speaking in a strange language. We didn’t know who he was talking to. He was behaving strangely.”
Following Jakub’s death, detectives searched the property on Castle Street where they discovered two empty snap-seal bags, similar to those often used to sell illegal drugs. Detective Inspector Iain Czapowski, of Blackburn CID, stated that he found no evidence of drug use on the premises. However, he added: “What stood out was the sheer quantity of alcohol that had been consumed.”
In a heart-wrenching statement, Jakub’s brother-in-law, Mateusz, said: “I think they were all taking drugs as I can’t think why they wouldn’t call an ambulance sooner. I just don’t understand why they didn’t call an ambulance.”
Klaudia, Jakub’s grieving sister, shared: “It’s been the hardest time of our lives trying to cope with what’s happened.”
After toxicology tests, it was discovered that Jakub had fatal levels of MDMA in his system. Assistant Coroner Sian Jones concluded drug involvement, saying: “When his brother-in-law arrived, even to a lay person it was clear it wasn’t a case of someone who was drunk. He was incoherent and talking in a strange language.”
Jones furthermore expressed concern about the delayed medical response: “The person whose phone he used was still reluctant to call an ambulance and one has to wonder why that was. The reluctance to call an ambulance suggests to me that at least some of those present were aware something has been taken and were worried, maybe due to their employment.”
Jakub’s colleague Ryan Holt initiated a GoFundMe campaign in his memory, surpassing the ÂŁ2,000 mark for a funeral, mentioning: “Our colleague Jakub sadly passed away on May 2. He started with the company in February 2022 and in that time he has spent time working as part of the night dairy team and the night freezer team and built relationships right across the warehouse.”
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