Teen's tragic words to friend before festival overdose death
Lost and intoxicated, a Sydney teenager sent increasingly incoherent texts to friends as she wandered a music festival ground before collapsing and dying, an inquest has been told.
Alex Ross-King, 19, died after consuming three MDMA caps and multiple alcohol drinks, and collapsing at FOMO festival at Parramatta in January.
The inquest into her death on Wednesday was told she lost contact with her friends about 3pm and began trying to reach them by phone.
About 3.30pm, she texted to a friend, "F***s sake, I just want to find yours", before addressing a group chat: "Bro can someone just me from under the tree."
"Please someone," another message read.
Ms Ross-King's friend, who cannot be identified, told NSW Coroners Court on Wednesday she wasn't getting much phone service, but was eventually able to message back they were at the "upstairs toilet".
"We will be here, there's dogs here," the friend warned.
"If you have something, give it to someone else."
Alex sent "I don't hwc wnythiy hqhwh" and "Where wre you".
The friend told the inquest Ms Ross-King had earlier taken three MDMA caps within a few hours, including two at the festival gates when she became nervous she'd be caught by sniffer dogs.
When friends eventually found her, they weren't concerned she was seriously unwell despite her rapid breathing and repeated complaints about being hot and being "really f***ed up".
"My legs aren't working," Ms Ross-King told her friend.
She eventually received medical treatment at the insistence of a health worker patrolling the grounds, the court heard.
The young woman resisted medical staff as they applied ice to her before she was rushed to nearby Westmead Hospital, where she soon went into cardiac arrest and died.
Ms Ross-King's friend told the inquest the teenager had used MDMA regularly for months in early 2018, but stopped about August and had never consumed three caps in one day.
The friend later burst into tears while telling the court the effect of losing a "sister" and a friend who "always put others first".
"She took a massive part of me when she left," the young woman said.
"I just hope something comes from this and we make a change for her."
Ms Ross-King's parents echoed those remarks outside, urging Premier Gladys Berejiklian to act.
The inquest is examining six recent MDMA-related deaths at NSW music festivals between December 2017 and January 2019.
Ms Ross-King, Nathan Tran, Joshua Tam, Joseph Pham, Callum Brosnan and Diana Nguyen were all aged between 18 and 23.
"What else can I say? Go home, hug your children," Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame said as she adjourned the inquest until Thursday.
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