'Molly' Suspected In UNH Student's Death At NYC Music Festival
DURHAM, N.H. (CBS) — Just days after a New Hampshire woman died from an apparent overdose of a popular club drug, another Granite State woman has died under similar circumstances.
Police say 20-year-old Olivia Rotondo of Providence, R.I., died Saturday of drug-related causes. She was a junior at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.
"It's just crazy that this could happen to us," one UNH student said.
Rotondo was attending the annual Electric Zoo Music Festival in New York when she died.
A 24-year-old man from Rochester, N.Y., also died of a drug overdose at the music festival. Police say the deaths appear to have been linked to "Molly," or MDMA, a powerful chemical commonly used in ectasy.
"Everyone is just really upset about the whole thing," UNH student Timany Campbell said.
Plymouth State University student Brittany Flannagan died last Tuesday at the House of Blues in Boston. Another six other students have been hospitalized.
"It's just getting more and more popular at concerts like the festival. People are getting hooked on it because of the effects," Campbell said.
On Sunday, organizers cancelled the festival's final show.
"I feel it's happening more and more throughout all the schools. Every week, there seems to be a new tragedy," UNH student Alex Bookbinder said.
UNH released the following statement Sunday: "We extend our deepest sympathies to the (Rotondo) family and friends during this difficult time and are focused on providing support and resources to our campus community."
