2015 On Track for Record Number of Heroin Overdoses in Will County

This year could be a record year for Will County when it comes to heroin overdose deaths.

Will County Coroner Patrick O’Neil told the Joliet Herald News he expects Will County will see more heroin overdoses in 2015 since 2012’s record of 53 deaths. So far, 36 people have died of heroin overdoses with two additional deaths currently under investigation. The expected spike comes after two years of declining fatalities and an increase in efforts to educate communities on the dangers of the drug, the Joliet Herald News reports.

O’Neil is particularly concerned about one recent overdose death. A 35-year-old Joliet man overdosed on Aug. 29 from a combined drug intoxication, which included acetyle fentanyl, the newspaper reports. Acetyle Fentanyl is a “lethally potent heroin substitute” and O’Neil told the Herald News it is the first reported death involving this drug in Will County.

“[Acetyl fentanyl] is five times more powerful than what’s on the street right now,” O’Neil told the Joliet Herald News. “If it’s any indication of what’s out there, we may end up dealing with a monumental rash of more fatalities.”

Read more on the Joliet Herald News.