(L.A.) Keith Braxton, 62, Died on a Sidewalk

Case Number: 2024-03997

Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 62-year-old Black male that occurred on a sidewalk.

The coroner’s office has identified the man as Keith Braxton.

Manner of Death: Accident

Cause of Death: Effects of Fentanyl, Methamphetamine and Cocaethylene

RIP KEITH BRAXTON (December 4, 1961 – March 6, 2024)

Formal pronouncement of death was made on Wednesday at 3:59 p.m.

The Department of Medical Examiner publicly disclosed the CoD ruling on June 15, presumably after the results of tox screening had come back positive for the drugs.

Cocaethylene is a psychoactive metabolite formed in the body when cocaine and alcohol are consumed together. It is the only known instance where a new psychoactive substance is formed entirely within the body from ingesting two other drugs (cocaine and alcohol). Cocaethylene is more cardiotoxic and hepatotoxic than cocaine alone.

The last time that cocaethylene was specifically mentioned as a cause of death by the county medical examiner was in 2020, though there have been numerous instances where cocaine and alcohol have together been listed as a cause of death.