MILWAUKEE — Students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee are stunned to learn about the sudden death of a freshman classmate.
Logan Tomasello, 19, died on Halloween. His exact cause of death is still pending, but his sister told first responders that he smoked marijuana and was vaping shortly before collapsing at her apartment near campus. Emergency workers administered Narcan, but Tomasello later died at Columbia St. Mary's.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office says there's no evidence that Tomasello suffered any type of vaping-related lung injury, but they are doing further testing, and are still waiting for toxicology results.
Tomasello is from the Lake Geneva area. He loved hockey, drawing and video games. Friends say people were naturally drawn to him, because he was so kind and funny. Now, they're left trying to make sense of life without him.
A vigil will be held Wednesday night at the high school Tomasello attended, Big Foot High School, in Walworth. His funeral is Thursday afternoon in Lake Geneva.
Although we don't know an exact cause of death yet, many UWM students do believe that drug use is becoming an epidemic.
"It's definitely a problem," said UWM freshman, Chloe Stambaugh.
"I see it every day, it's crazy," said UWM junior, Matthew Haggenjos. "I never knew it was such a problem until I came to college. You just have to be conscious about it, and think is it worth it?"
"I feel like we should be talking about," said UWM freshman, Taylor Rynish. "Someone should say something about it. The community needs be aware that it's happening, and that it should be stopped."
"You're conscious of it and everybody knows about it, but when someone dies or almost dies, it's still a shock," said UWM junior, Keagan McInnis.
We did reach out to UWM but have not heard back.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Tomasello family with funeral expenses.
