Hardy Bucks actor suffered heart attack after taking cocaine at stag party, inquest hears

The use of cocaine during social occasions is a reality of modern life, according to a Mayo coroner who warned of the dangers of using the drug while at the inquest of Hardy Bucks actor Alan Carter who died in August last year.

Coroner for Mayo, Dr Eleanor Fitzgerald, made the comments at the inquest of the 37-year-old Mayo man who died as a result of a massive heart attack which was brought on after taking cocaine at a friend's stag party in Westport.

Mr Carter of Rath Cluain, Kiltimagh and originally from Market Street, Swinford died in the early hours of August 26, 2024 after suffering a heart attack while staying in an AirBnB in Westport.

The inquest into Mr Carter's death, which took place in Ballina Courthouse, heard that he had been in Westport for his friend's stag party and had taken cocaine after returning to his accommodation.

Mr Carter also took a psychedelic drug called DMT at around 5am on August 26 and started 'tripping' before he soon lost consciousness. The emergency services were called and CPR was performed on Mr Carter but he could not be revived and was pronounced dead at 6.22am.

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Commenting on the death, Dr Fitzgerald said this was a tragedy for Mr Carter's family but it was also avoidable and warned that cocaine is a dangerous drug despite its popularity.

“The normality of people drinking and having cocaine is not safe and has its risks and sudden death in certain people,” she commented.

“The dangers of taking cocaine and alcohol cannot be underestimated or overstated in our social lives. It is such a tragedy that such a young person who was out celebrating had his life ended in such a manner. However it is a reality of what we are dealing with in this world and the deaths from it are rising and the public need to be aware of it. We don't want to be losing our partners and sons to an avoidable death,” she said.

The post mortem into Mr Carter's death discovered that he suffered from "severe coronary sclerosis" in the heart and the cause of death was as a result of a heart attack due to cocaine abuse.

Dr Tomas Nemeth, Consultant Pathologist who performed the post mortem, told Dr Fitzgerald that the level of cocaine taken by Mr Carter would have triggered the heart attack.

The inquest heard that Mr Carter was in Westport to attend the stag party of his friend Barry Ruane and along with Gerard Francis Timothy and Kenny Groarke they had been staying in an AirBnB on the old Castlebar Road.

Garda Ciara Sheehan, who attended the scene on the morning of August 26, explained she spoke to Mr Groarke who advised her that the four men had returned to the AirBnB after midnight and continued drinking and cocaine was also taken.

Garda Sheehan explained that she was informed that Mr Carter left the accommodation between 3am and 4am and returned at around 5am with a small bag containing brown powder along with a glass pipe.

Mr Groake told gardaí that around a minute after Mr Carter smoked the substance, he "started tripping" and within ten minutes they noticed he had stopped breathing. The emergency services were contacted at 5.43am and CPR was performed by two of the men before the emergency services arrived.

Mr Groarke told Garda Sheehan that they thought Mr Carter would "ride it out" and they panicked when he stopped breathing.

CCTV from around Westport were examined and they showed Mr Carter and Gerard Timothy on Castlebar Street at 3.58am before proceeding to Bridge Street and Shop Street at 4.02am. They were last seen on Castlebar Street at 4.25am heading in the direction of the AirBnB.

Mr Timothy and Mr Groarke both provided statements to Gardaí but they were not present at the inquest. In his statement to Gardaí which was read into the record, Mr Timothy stated he left the house with Mr Carter to go to his house in Westport to get a bluetooth speaker and cigarettes and was gone for about an hour and half.

He described Mr Carter as being in good form and there were no signs of concern before he stopped breathing.

In his statement, Mr Groarke stated that the four males took cocaine while in the accommodation but he did not know who the drug belonged to. He added that after Mr Carter took the DMT he started to trip and could not stay still and was rolling around the ground.

Dr Nemeth explained that the results of the post mortem showed severe coronary sclerosis of the coronary arteries with up to 80 percent of the left artery blocked and 50 percent of the right artery blocked. 

He explained that a blood sample which was sent to the State Lab contained a variety of substances including 0.56 microgrammes of cocaine and 134mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. He said even without alcohol, the level of cocaine with the heart disease would have been enough to cause a heart attack. He explained he did not detect DMT and did not believe it was a contributor to the death.

Dr Fitzgerald was informed that Mr Carter suffered from high blood pressure and high cholesterol and also suffered from sleep apnea.

She commented that there was little delay between the emergency call and the arrival of emergency services and that all that could be done was done to revive Mr Carter.

A verdict of misadventure was recorded and Dr Fitzgerald expressed her sympathy to Mr Carter's partner, family and friends on his tragic death.

Sergeant Noel Crinnegan also expressed his sympathy to the family but stated it was also a warning that people who take drugs do not know what they are taking.