Woman dead after suspected overdose on Gold Coast was celebrating 40th birthday

A woman who died in a suspected mass drug overdose in a Gold Coast high-rise apartment on Friday has been described as ‘kind, sensitive and courageous’ as friends pay tribute.

Friends have paid tribute to “a force to reckon with” who died as part of a suspected mass drug overdose on the Gold Coast on Good Friday.

Danielle Whittaker, who had just celebrated her 40th birthday, died after a suspected overdose on a cocktail of drugs which also left two friends in serious conditions in hospital late on Friday night.

Originally from New Zealand, Ms Whittaker lived on the Gold Coast and was partying with six other friends on Friday when she died.

The entire group was assessed by paramedics at the scene of the Surfers Paradise high-rise apartment party, but four people did not require hospitalisation.

Danielle Whittaker died following a suspected drug overdose on the Gold Coast on Friday. Picture: Facebook

Ms Whittaker suffered cardiac arrest and could not be revived, despite the desperate efforts of paramedics.

Two of her friends were both rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital in serious conditions.

Taking to Facebook, friends have paid tribute to Ms Whittaker’s vitality and zest for life.

“Kind, courageous, sensitive, hilarious, fierce, upfront.. all of those things and so much more - it has been one hell of a ride and I am so lucky to have known you, let alone call you a close friend,” wrote one.

Mark Deverell wrote a tribute hoping Ms Whittaker would find the answers to life’s questions “on a higher plane”.

“Soar high, soar wide and be everywhere all at once,” he wrote.

“Knowing you - this is something you will achieve.”

Sam Hughes wrote “the world works in mysterious ways”.

“We were camping on the weekend … and saw a shooting star,” he wrote.

“Maybe it was you. Bye friend.”

Queensland Ambulance Service Inspector Mitch Ware. Picture: Richard Gosling

Another friend Kaz Jackson added: “My beautiful darling girl Danielle - you are so loved and missed. You were a force to reckon with, and had so many amazing plans to help so many people.

“I am absolutely devastated, and can’t believe you are no longer here, especially because we were supposed to be celebrating our 40th birthdays together.”

Ms Jackson asks if someone from Ms Whittaker’s family sees her post to reach out as she wants to “give her whanau a huge hug and help in whatever way I can”.

Someone responds: “Danii’s family is requesting privacy until they can piece together what happened. This is an awful shock and will take a fair bit of planning to get everything sorted. They are wanting to celebrate her life, but for now, please hold off.”

Speaking to media on Saturday, Queensland Ambulance Service Inspector Mitch Ware issued a stern warning to anyone wishing to experiment with so-called “party drugs”.

“I want to start off by paying my condolences to the family of the 40-year-old female who lost her life (but) I won’t sugar coat it – there is no such thing as a safe drug, there is no such thing as a party drug,” he said.

“These medications that people are electing to take will stop you from breathing.

“They will render you unconscious and if you don’t obtain specialist care, you will die.”

It is understood the women, all Gold Coast locals, had been partying for several hours with four other friends in an oceanfront apartment.

He said incidents like Friday night’s tragedy were becoming far too common.

“These sort of events happen every day,” he said.

“They are becoming far too regular and they occupy a lot of the QAS time and resources.

“We have spoken about this before and we haven’t seen a downward trend.

“You can probably tell from the frustration in my voice – we are going to these patients frequently.

“Some people are obviously not listening.”

Originally published as Woman dead after suspected overdose on Gold Coast was celebrating 40th birthday