A woman cleaning her home after the suspected overdose of her son is believed to have overdosed herself.
Officials don't believe she used the drugs – they think she accidentally touched something so strong it killed her, according to WJAC.
Theresa Plummer stayed at her son's bedside in intensive care last week as doctors treated him for a suspected overdose, the news station reported.
The 69-year-old woman had found her son, Ronald, passed out in the bathroom of his home, according to WJAC. After he was hospitalized, she wanted to help him in some way, so she went back to clean up his bathroom.
Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees told WJAC that authorities believe Plummer absorbed a substance through her skin or had a reaction after handling drug paraphernalia while cleaning her son's home.
She began having shortness of breath and was taken to the hospital, where she died Nov. 6, WJAC reported. Her son died the next day, according to the news station.
"This is a caution for safety, for anyone coming into contact with any type of powder substance," Lees told WJAC. "You should use extreme caution and notify the proper authorities."
Authorities couldn’t immediately identify the drugs involved in the case. Toxicology results for the Plummers won't be back for another six to eight weeks.
The Cox Media Group National Content Desk contributed to this report.
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