2019 WILL COUNTY CORONER FINAL HEROIN/FENTANYL DEATHS

For Immediate Press Release: March 3, 2020

CORONER OF WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS
Office: (815) 727-8455 Fax: (815) 727-8816
158 N. Scott Street Joliet, Illinois 60432

March 3, 2020

For Immediate Press Release

Contact: Deputy Chief Coroner Laurie Summers 815-727-8455

2019 WILL COUNTY CORONER FINAL HEROIN/FENTANYL DEATHS

The Will County Coroner’s office has completed their evaluation of heroin/fentanyl-related deaths for 2019. Will County Deputy Chief Coroner Laurie Summers said the official number of deaths related to heroin/fentanyl overdose deaths in 2019 is staggering.

There were 133 total accidental overdoses in 2019 with heroin and fentanyl being responsible for 101 of those deaths. Summers said “the number of deaths related to fentanyl and synthetic fentanyl has once again risen. “Fentanyl has been discovered to be a game-changer in the fight against opioid-related drug deaths,” Summers said. Users may not know that the designer drugs are present and many times Narcan may not be strong enough to reverse the drugs’ effects. Summers labeled fentanyl as the deadliest drug in Will County and arch enemy #1 in America.

Will County Coroner Patrick O’Neil said, “My office started tracking heroin-related deaths in 1999 when the drug was responsible for six (6) deaths.” O’Neil said, “The latest death toll represents a 1,583% increase.”

Even though opioid-related deaths have risen O’Neil believes that Narcan, in the hands of first responders, has saved thousands of lives in Will County.” O’Neil and Summers agree that we must continue our fight against these terrorizing drugs and continue on the path of working together to fight this epidemic.

For more in-depth information visit Will County Coroner website at www.willcountyillinois.com – Coroner and/or Deputy Chief Coroner Laurie Summers at 815-727-8455.