Douglas Kiker reportedly looked so unwell before his death that a passerby called 911 to report it

Douglas Kiker, the “Singing Garbage Man” of “American Idol” Season 18, reportedly looked atrocious capable earlier helium was hospitalized that a pedestrian who passed him connected the thoroughfare decided to telephone 911.

Kiker died March 10 astatine Colorado’s Denver Health Medical Center, a typical of the Denver Medical Examiner’s bureau told The Times connected Friday successful an email. He had been transported determination March 5 by ambulance from a fewer blocks eastbound of City Center Park.

Before Kiker was hospitalized, helium appeared to beryllium experiencing an overdose, the caller said, according to TMZ. Kiker, unofficially, suffered a drug-induced bosom attack, sources extracurricular of instrumentality enforcement told the website.

But “the origin and mode of decease are pending investigation,” authorities said Friday.

The Mobile, Ala., man, who earned his nickname singing portion hanging disconnected of his day-job trash truck, auditioned for “American Idol” Season 18, charming the judges with his unaffected quality and earthy talent. He earned his summons to Hollywood but was dismissed, arsenic truthful galore are, during the archetypal Hollywood round.

Even so, helium returned to the contention for the finale episode, doing a virtual show of his audition song, “Bless the Broken Road,” with Rascal Flatts, the radical that turned the tune archetypal recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band into a deed successful 2005. By that time, the satellite was successful COVID-19 lockdown and the televised show saw the singers, judges and big each successful his oregon her ain Zoom-style box, acold isolated adjacent arsenic Kiker and the set were singing together.

“Wow y’all! I can’t judge I really got to sing with Rascal Flatts,” Kiker wrote connected YouTube successful May 2020. “So overmuch has happened since my archetypal audition y’all. I americium moving connected putting unneurotic an album!”

Kiker, who was 32, was the begetter of 2 young girls with Valerie Cook. Sister Faith Evans, who posted connection of his decease Wednesday day connected Facebook, responded aboriginal that time to radical who had asked astir helping the family.

“[A]s this was wholly unexpected we are wholly unprepared and are gonna request a small assistance getting him location from denver colorado and being capable to springiness the memorial that not lone helium but anyone deserves,” Evans wrote Wednesday night, referring radical to a GoFundMe that has since earned much than the magnitude that was sought. She apologized for her hold successful responding, saying to “charge it to our caput not our hearts.”