Mother of teen killed by fentanyl speaks out after two Bellevue teens overdose

BELLEVUE, Wash. — The mother of a Sammamish teen who overdosed on fentanyl is speaking out after two more high school students overdosed over the weekend.

Bellevue police say a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old man who attend Bellevue High School were found unresponsive in their homes late Saturday and early Sunday morning. They were both found by family members and saved with the help of first responders using CPR and naloxone. Bellevue police say both teens took Percocet that was laced with fentanyl.

Lucas Beirer was 16 when he died last fall. Investigators say the pill he thought was Percocet was laced with a deadly dose of fentanyl. The Skyline High School junior died Sept. 30, a month after a classmate, Tom Beatty, overdosed and died.

Olga Davidov- Beirer is talking about her smart, athletic, fun son-- who she would have never thought was at risk of a deadly overdose. She wants to warn other parents and teens.

“I feel Lucas will always be in my heart, and I just want my whole life to talk about drugs because as long as I talk about it, Lucas is alive,” said Davidov-Beirer, who was invited by Bellevue police to talk about her son’s death. “I am grateful for Lucas to save other people’s lives, and I truly believe in that.”

Bellevue police say fake Percocet pills sold on the street look like what you get at the pharmacy. There’s no way to tell if they are laced with a deadly dose of fentanyl.

Bellevue police narcotics Officer Jim Keene said the focus used to be to prevent drug addiction. Now the message is much more dire.

“We have to worry about life and death. One pill, sometimes the first pill you take, could be lethal,” said Keene.

Officials with Public Health of Seattle and King County say there have been increases in overdose deaths, driven primarily by fentanyl found in pills and powders.

Public Health has been tracking drug overdose deaths. Between mid-June to mid-September 2019, 141 suspected and confirmed drug overdose deaths have occurred, compared to the 109 overdose deaths that occurred during the same period in 2018.

According to Public Health, the number of overdose deaths involving fentanyl has substantially increased in recent years, from 23 deaths in 2016, to 33 deaths in 2017, and to 66 deaths in 2018. Click here for statistics from 2019.

Click here to find resources on preventing opioid overdose.

Watch a full replay of a news conference on the recent overdoses below:

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