A student has shared her terrifying ordeal after she says her drink was spiked on a night out where she blacked out and woke up in hospital the next day with no memory.
Tash Donald said a test then found drug traces similar to “roofies”, a date rape drug, in her system, after she reported the incident to police.
The 19-year-old says she remembers starting to feel “strange” during a night out with friends at the Slug and Lettuce restaurant in Solihull, Birmingham on Friday, February 11.
Psychology student Tash said her "instincts kicked in" after she started to feel unwell. She said she remembers nothing after heading into the girl's toilets at around 11.50pm until she woke up the next day in hospital.
Tash, from Olton in Solihull, then found out from family that she had asked her sister to pick her up, been repeatedly sick in the car and then fallen unconscious in her front garden, Birmingham Live reports.
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But it wasn't until five days later, after reporting what happened to police, that Tash said a test discovered a drug similar to 'roofies' in her system. "It was really terrifying to find that out," said Tash, a student at the University of Birmingham.
"In some ways, I am lucky because my instincts kicked in to get out of there. If I hadn't, I don't know what could have happened.
"I just remember going into the toilets because I felt a bit strange and texting my sister saying I didn't feel right. I think I'd had four or five drinks by that point which might sound a lot, but I do go out quite a lot and I knew how I felt wasn't right for me.
"After that, I don't remember anything. I only know what happened from what my family told me.
"Apparently my sister rang me and said I didn't sound right, she just thought I sounded very drunk at first. I don't know how I got from the toilets to her car because none of my friends saw me but I obviously managed to get there somehow.
"While she was driving me home, she was having to hold me up because I completely lost control of my body. I was limp and nearly unconscious and was being sick over and over again.
"She rang my mum and said she thought I'd been spiked. By the time she got me home, I was unconscious.
"They rang an ambulance purely because they didn't know what to do, they were really worried. The ambulance crew had to put me on the grass in the recovery position outside my house."
Tash was taken to hospital where she stayed under observation overnight. She woke up around 8.30am the next morning feeling dazed and confused.
"I felt so confused, I couldn't even remember my birthday when the nurse asked," said Tash. "For a few days after, I just felt very tired. I was very zoned out, it was like brain fog."
Suspecting she had been spiked, Tash reported the incident to police. She says the results of a drug test then came back positive for a sedative similar to Rohypnol, also known as 'roofies'.
The part-time sales assistant has since taken to Instagram to share her story. She's hoping to raise awareness of the symptoms of spiking and has been overwhelmed by the response.
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"I wanted to share my experience because I know a lot of people in my situation don't report things," she said. "From that post, I had five or six other girls message me to say they had been through a similar experience.
"The majority of them said they had never reported it as they assumed the police wouldn't do anything, but from my experience the police have taken it really seriously. They're looking at CCTV and are doing an investigation.
"I would say I'm quite vigilant but there could have been a moment when I had my drink in my hand and wasn't watching it, it's hard to say. I want to make other girls aware of the signs so they can look out for themselves and their friends."
West Midlands Police confirmed it is investigating the incident and Slug and Lettuce told BirminghamLive it is assisting police with their enquiries.
A police spokesperson said: "We're investigating a report of woman's drink being spiked on a night out in Solihull on Friday, February 11. She was taken to hospital after becoming unwell.
A spokesperson for Slug and Lettuce Solihull added: “The safety and well-being of our guests is our main priority. We are assisting the police with their ongoing investigation and will make our CCTV footage available to them should they need to review it.”
