Lethal mixture of prescription drugs killed ex-pro wrestler Adams

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TAMPA, Fla.
Former pro wrestler Brian "Crush" Adams died last month after accidentally ingesting a lethal mixture of prescribed medications, the medical examiner's office said Friday.

The 44-year-old Tampa resident died Aug. 13 from mixing a strong painkiller with muscle relaxants and two different types of sedatives, said Dr. Leszek Chrostowski from the Hillsborough County medical examiner's office.

Chrostowski said he found "therapeutic levels" of each of the drugs in his system, but the mixture slowed his respiratory system enough to kill him.

There were no anabolic steroids in Adams' body, a report from the office said.

The drugs that killed Adams included buprenorphine, an opiate-based painkiller that Chrostowski said is often used like methadone in the treatment of painkiller addiction; carisoprodol, a muscle relaxant; and sedatives chlordiazepoxide and alprazolam.

Adams wasn't breathing when his wife found him unconscious in their home.

A former world tag team champion, Adams last performed for the World Wrestling Federation in 2001 and served intermittently on the roster beginning in 1990, World Wrestling Entertainment said. He wrestled his last match in January 2003 when a spinal injury forced him into retirement.

Adams' death came less than two months after pro wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife and son before hanging himself on the cable of a weight machine in his Georgia home. Prescription anabolic steroids were found in the Benoit family's home, raising questions about whether the drugs played a role in the killings.


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