By SUZANNA K. LOURIE
slourie@saratogian.com

STILLWATER — A 2010 Ballston Spa High School graduate was pronounced dead in the driveway of his family’s 3 Riverside Drive home Friday night after he inhaled a toxic combination of chemicals, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office.

Joshua Brisbin, 18, was found unresponsive in a vehicle parked in the driveway of the Stillwater home by his stepfather, Peter Hoesel, who called 911.

A sergeant from the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office and a patrolman from the Stillwater Police Department responded to the 911 call at 6:57 p.m. When it became evident that Brisbin had ingested certain harmful chemicals in the vehicle, the responding officers called in the county Hazardous Materials Team, along with firefighters and Emergency Medical Services personnel for backup. A team from Momentive Performance Materials and a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Spill Response Team also assisted at the scene.

County Coroner Thomas Salvadore pronounced Brisbin dead at the scene. Further investigation revealed he had inhaled a toxic combination of two household chemicals that when mixed together form the deadly gas known as hydrogen sulfide.

The two officers who initially reported to the location were transported to Saratoga Hospital for exposure to the toxic gas.

Investigator Jeff Brown said that because the case falls into the category of a classified death, police are not commenting about whether the incident appeared to be an accident or suicide.

“Usually we wouldn’t release any information at this point, but there was such a huge response from the media at the scene that we needed to get something out there,” Brown said of a press release issued by the sheriff’s office Saturday morning.

Brown said he hopes there will be an autopsy, but the coroner’s office had not released any further information.

The case is still under investigation by the sheriff’s office.

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By SUZANNA K. LOURIE
slourie@saratogian.com

STILLWATER — A 2010 Ballston Spa High School graduate was pronounced dead in the driveway of his family’s 3 Riverside Drive home Friday night after he inhaled a toxic combination of chemicals, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office.

Joshua Brisbin, 18, was found unresponsive in a vehicle parked in the driveway of the Stillwater home by his stepfather, Peter Hoesel, who called 911.

A sergeant from the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office and a patrolman from the Stillwater Police Department responded to the 911 call at 6:57 p.m. When it became evident that Brisbin had ingested certain harmful chemicals in the vehicle, the responding officers called in the county Hazardous Materials Team, along with firefighters and Emergency Medical Services personnel for backup. A team from Momentive Performance Materials and a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Spill Response Team also assisted at the scene.

County Coroner Thomas Salvadore pronounced Brisbin dead at the scene. Further investigation revealed he had inhaled a toxic combination of two household chemicals that when mixed together form the deadly gas known as hydrogen sulfide.

The two officers who initially reported to the location were transported to Saratoga Hospital for exposure to the toxic gas.

Investigator Jeff Brown said that because the case falls into the category of a classified death, police are not commenting about whether the incident appeared to be an accident or suicide.

“Usually we wouldn’t release any information at this point, but there was such a huge response from the media at the scene that we needed to get something out there,” Brown said of a press release issued by the sheriff’s office Saturday morning.

Brown said he hopes there will be an autopsy, but the coroner’s office had not released any further information.

The case is still under investigation by the sheriff’s office.

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