Thomas Johnson; at right the street where he was found dead. (Via SI Live) One dead man and his two unconscious companions were found inside a Hyundai four-door in Jersey City at 6:35 a.m. Wednesday. The deceased is Thomas J. Johnson, 25, who was found dead behind the wheel with a plastic bag with 20 light blue oxycodone pills in his possession. Police say the car’s motor was running and Johnson "was ice-cold and his hands were blue." His 21-year-old younger brother, Brian Johnson, was unconscious beside him; also passed out in the Hyundai was Eric M. Hansen, 21.
The Staten Island Advance reports that Brian Johnson had just graduated from college and his older brother had taken him out to celebrate in Manhattan. The three men were apparently on their way back to Staten Island when they pulled over. Brian Johnson and Hansen were revived at the scene by a police officer and taken to Jersey City Medical Center, where they were treated for an apparent overdose. It's believed that Thomas Johnson also O.D.'d, but police are still waiting on the autopsy and toxicology reports.
Johnson, who went by the nickname “Bear,” was a high school football and lacrosse player who studied criminal justice at C.W. Post and worked in patient care at Staten Island University Hospital. According to the Advance, one of his favorite quotes on his Facebook page was "Live fast, die young, and leave a good lookin’ corpse behind.... You only live once."