Man overdosed on fentanyl and cocaine at Harvey’s Ascension campus, medical examiner says

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled a death on the Ascension-St. Susanna Catholic School campus an accidental drug overdose.

Days before Christmas 2023, Brandon Gross, Sr. 55, accidentally overdosed on a combination of fentanyl, cocaine, and diphenhydramine toxicity, said an Office spokesperson.

The immediate area surrounding Ascension—the site of a near $10 million water detention pond and civic center project—is surrounded by several drug houses, some of which Harvey police have raided multiple times.

According to county data, most opioid-related deaths in 2023—90%—involved fentanyl. Gross, Sr.’s death aligns with a larger, ominous trend from last year: most deaths occurred amongst Black men between the ages of 50 and 59.

The sprawling campus, once a church and day school, is owned by Harvey. The city purchased the property from the Archdiocese of Chicago in January 2023. Harvey officials seek to convert a portion of the campus into a civic center and park. That dovetails with an effort to construct a water detention pond on 153rd Street and Myrtle Ave., overseen by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. 

The city has not provided details of this incident to the District, a District spokesperson told the HWH Friday. “The District remains committed to the stormwater management project in this area,” they added.

Mayor Chris Clark and Harvey Police Chief Cameron Biddings did not respond to requests for comment by publication of this story. Neither have made public comments about Gross, Sr.’s death. City spokesperson Glenn Harston II did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

The city is seeking millions of state and federal dollars to pursue its portion of the initiative on Myrtle Ave. 

In January, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced over $55 million in Open Space Land Acquisition and Development award recipients. The grant portfolio supports local park projects and land acquisition support recreational activities. Harvey submitted an application but was rejected.

Details about the cause and manner of death emerge as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is currently reviewing the District’s $5 million application for funding, recently opened its public comment period for the initiative.

FEMA’s Region 5 news desk did not respond to requests for comment by publication of this story.

The HWH previously reported that 911 calls obtained by the newsroom suggest multiple people accessed the property even after Gross, Sr.’s death. The city even failed to secure a gate providing access to the campus after Gross, Sr.’s death.

Harvey is now scrambling to secure the property. Police placed an “eye-in-the-sky” camera on the campus several weeks ago to monitor local activity. Signs warning against trespassers dot the buildings.

Alderwoman Colby Chapman (2nd) and City Council ally Alderman Tracy Key (4th) intend to submit opposition letters about the Myrtle Ave. project to FEMA next week, Chapman said. 

Several Myrtle Ave. residents have already submitted impact statements, and a physical petition containing over 1,500 signatures is slated to be delivered next week, also. 

“Safety is a concern for residents because people are breaking in,” Chapman said, adding the concern extends to youth, who “may want to try their hand at being in the water or touching the water.”

The area between 152nd and 154th Streets across Loomis, Lexington, Ashland, and Vine have notoriously been surrounded by a drug market, Chapman stressed. 

“Same ethnicity, but different socioeconomic status across Dolton, Robbins, Riverdale, Stone Park, and then there’s Harvey,” she said about the difference in treatment toward Harvey by District and city officials as compared to mildly economically better municipalities.

“Our people are being punished based upon their paycheck.”