
A distraught Alexa Ray Joel, the 23 year old daughter of Billy “The Piano Man” Joel, succumbed to depression and swallowed 8 naturopathic pills containing St. John’s Wort and other benign herbs, then, thinking she was dying, freaked out and called 911. "EMS workers received a message from the 911 dispatcher saying: 'Female caller. Took eight pills. Wants to die. Now feels funny. Wants to live,' sources said." Paramedics rushed to Alexa’s West Village apartment and whisked her off to St. Vincent's Hospital a few blocks away.
One source categorized the episode as "a cry for help."She was released a few hours later and her publicist released a statement saying, “She is stable,” soon after she was brought to the hospital. Her mother, former supermodel Christie Brinkely, took her daughter to an undisclosed location.