Girl, 15, Dies of Suspected Overdose at Calif. Rave

Aug. 18--A new rave death in California this week comes amid growing debate about how to keep such events safe.

A teenage girl died of a suspected drug overdose after attending a rave at the Fresno Fairgrounds on Saturday night, police said.

Authorities said Monday that Houa Hue, 15, a sophomore at Fresno's Washington Union High School, was found dead early Sunday in the back seat of a car belonging to a stranger she had asked to take her home.

Fresno police are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death but believe the girl probably overdosed on a popular party drug.

The death comes two weeks after two young women attending the Hard Summer music festival in Pomona died. The deaths have raised new concerns about how to curtail drug use at such events.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to study a ban on raves at county facilities.

Two women died from apparent overdoses on the first day of the Hard Summer festival. UCLA student Tracy Nguyen, 18, suffered a seizure of unknown length when paramedics responded at 4:45 p.m. on Aug. 1. She became pulseless as she was rushed to San Dimas Community Hospital, where she was declared dead, the coroner said.

At about 7 p.m., Cal State Channel Islands student Katie Dix, 19, went into respiratory and cardiac distress after witnesses saw her drinking alcohol and taking a drug orally. Doctors tried to resuscitate her for half an hour at the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center before she was declared dead, the coroner said. Autopsy results are pending.

The deaths prompted three emergency room directors to call for an end to large raves in Los Angeles County, citing the threat to public health.

In the Fresno case, Houa attended the rave with three friends, according to KFSN-TV Channel 30, an ABC affiliate in Fresno. Her older brothers said they saw her at the event, drinking beer and acting strangely. Family members later reported that she never made it home.

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