Nebraska man sentenced for selling fentanyl that put man in vegetative state

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A central Nebraska man was sentenced Thursday after someone suffered severe neurological damage due to taking fentanyl.

Tanner Hudson, 27, of Spalding got 16 years in prison for the distribution of fentanyl.

After he is released from prison, he will serve a three-year term of supervised release.

In March 2022, authorities said Hudson sold a round blue pill to someone, thinking it was Percocet.

Within an hour of taking the pill, the victim lost consciousness.

About five hours later, the victim’s roommate came home to find the victim suffering from pulmonary edema, which is when fluid builds up in the lungs and makes it hard to breathe.

First responders arrived and gave the victim a dose of Narcan.

Eventually, medical doctors determined that the victim suffered ventricular fibrillation — a life-threatening heart rhythm — and brain swelling.

The victim remains in a vegetative state.