Ballard High student dies of accidental fentanyl overdose

A teen from Ballard High School has died of an accidental fentanyl overdose.

According to a report from KING5, the teen’s parents say their son probably thought he was taking Oxycodone. The parents requested that the Seattle School District alert families about the overdose, which happened not long after two students at Skyline High School in Sammamish also overdosed on fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid pain reliever, far more potent than Oxycodone — even small doses can result in death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it’s 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.

“There has been a significant increase in King County overdose deaths among young people due to fentanyl-laced drugs and powders,” the school district posted on Facebook. “These deaths have been due to counterfeit opioid pills and powders that the young people reportedly did not know were laced with fentanyl.”

In a letter sent out to families, Ballard High School principal Keven Wynkoop urged parents to have direct conversations with their children about pills and overdoses.

“The death of a student is an event you are never fully prepared for as the school leader. Each student is part of my extended Ballard family, and so news about (the student) is hard to share,” Wynkoop wrote.

KING5 reports that the two Skyline teens who died also thought they were taking Oxycodone — the King County Sheriff’s Office said most pills purchased illegally are likely counterfeit and could contain fentanyl.

To learn more about fentanyl and to see images of known fentanyl-laced pills, click here.

13 thoughts to “Ballard High student dies of accidental fentanyl overdose”

  1. My heart goes out to the families who have suffered these tragic losses.

    I also hope that this loss of life serves as a wake up call to our city leaders that enough is enough. Fault for the opioid crisis can be distributed across a broad spectrum of actors, but that doesn’t mean we should sit idle while monsters profit off of poison and children die.

      1. Safe injection sites do not increase or encourage drug use. There are many studies that prove that and exactly zero studies that prove the contrary.

        This kid’s death has exactly zero to do with safe injection sites and opioid overdosing on the streets. Shame on you for using his death to push your incorrect, delusion and dangerous views.

        But hey, anything for a few up votes from the “Safe” Seattle Cartel, right?

    1. This garbage is coming in illegally, from China and Mexico. Cartels just change their products. Used to be weed, then cocaine, and now heroin etc, which it appears the locals are giving into, with “safe injection” sites. It’s also illegal for kids to drink, yet they do that too. Why isn’t anybody talking about choices here? As in bad one’s. As a sober guy with 17.5 years without, I must make good choices every day, and do. It’s all on me and nobody else. Booze is legal and the costs passed onto society is HUGE. Anybody here want to take on Budweiser or Jim Beam? And why not?

      1. Wow, you deserve a medal! Tell me, when you f***cked up to the point that you had to become sober – were you young? When you started drinking – were you young? I never had to become sober because I made good choices from the get go – but not everyone does. Young people especially make mistakes. And, every person is faced with a unique physiology that presents them with challenges. It is so easy for someone as self absorbed and self congratulatory as you are to strut around like a cocksure rooster. My Dad was the meanest SOB when he was sober -because he thought he was better than anyone else. And so are you.

  2. So sad. I can not imagine what this family must be going through.
    We need to make these types of drugs as difficult to obtain as we possibly can. Our city policy of tolerance and decriminalization of drugs and drug dealing has got to change.


  3. Safe infusion destinations don’t increment or energize drug use. There are many investigations that demonstrate that and precisely zero examinations that demonstrate the opposite. This essay help online child’s demise has precisely zero to do with safe infusion destinations and narcotic ingesting too much of the roads. Disgrace on you for utilizing his passing to push your mistaken, dream, and perilous perspectives.

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