New Lenox Urges Residents To Exercise Caution After Overdoses

NEW LENOX, IL — The village of New Lenox is encouraging its residents to exercise caution after several overdoses in the area. In Joliet, there have been six overdoses, including three fatalities, since Sunday morning. According to police, all of these overdoses may be linked to cocaine that was mixed with fentanyl.

New Lenox sent out a Nixle alert to all of its residents alerting them about the overdoses.

"If you come into contact with any suspicious substances please do not attempt to dispose of it yourself, contact your local emergency agencies," the village said in its alert. "Please understand any physical contact could result in serious illness or death."

The Will County Coroner's Office confirmed on Wednesday that two people, a 29-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman, died Tuesday morning at Amita Health St. Joseph Medical Center following an apparent drug overdose on Joliet's near west side.

Two days earlier, on Sunday, Sept. 22, Joliet Police officers found a 40-year-old Joliet man dead inside his house in the 700 block of Landau Avenue around 8:35 a.m.

"When people use illegal narcotics, they never know what is truly in them. Unfortunately this can lead to people overdosing on potentially fatal substances," Joliet Chief of Police Al Roechner said Wednesday in a press release. "We want to let the public know we are fully investigating these cases. We also want to make the public aware that it appears cocaine is now being mixed with Fentanyl. I encourage anyone dealing with addiction issues to please seek help."