FAMILY: WE URGED BAD DRUG ALERT

A Faster Response By Authorities After Lincoln Park Man's Fatal
Overdose May Have Saved Lives, It Says

LINCOLN PARK -- Weeks before authorities alerted the public about a
lethal mix of bad street drugs killing people in Wayne County, one
local family said it knew of the threat and was pleading with
officials to take action.

Adam Korzeniewski, 27, of Lincoln Park died March 25 of what
officials have determined was an overdose that at least included the
powerful prescription painkiller Fentanyl, his family says.

On Sunday, the Wayne County Medical Examiner's office reported
another seven people died from drug overdoses over the weekend,
raising the total to 19 since Thursday, although officials say they
do not know if Fentanyl was involved in those deaths.

Korzeniewski's family said quicker action by law enforcement
officials after his death could have helped prevent more deadly
overdoses by spreading the word about the lethal mix including Fentanyl.

"Were they going to wait until every drug addict out there was dead
from this stuff?" said Valerie Wynns of Taylor, a surrogate mother to
Korzeniewski who helped raise him since he was 3. "I'm so mad. He's
not the only young man out there thinking, 'One more won't kill me.' "

At least 106 people died in Wayne County between September and March
from overdoses that included Fentanyl, which is often mixed with
cocaine or heroin, far above the 20 Fentanyl cases it sees in a typical year.

On Friday, Wayne County put out a public health alert about the drug
and announced that 12 people had died in two days from drug
overdoses. But Wayne County Medical Examiner Dr. Carl J. Schmidt said
Sunday that all of those deaths may not be from a deadly concoction
including Fentanyl. Toxicology tests on those deaths and the weekend
cases have not been competed.

"They likely weren't all Fentanyl-related," he said, adding there is
usually one to three drug overdoses daily in the county that does not
involve Fentanyl. Weekends also often bring more drug deaths, he added.

The deaths, in Detroit and several Wayne County suburbs, come as
several other major cities are experiencing rashes of
Fentanyl-related hospitalizations and deaths.

Schmidt said Wayne County started noticing the increase in
Fentanyl-related drug overdoses from toxicology results in mid to
late April. In one case, three people died together, which has never
happened before, he said. In two other instances, two people died at
the same time.Alert was 'hard call to make'

The decision to put out the health alert on the drug Friday came
after the dozen deaths in two days from overdoses and was made by the
Wayne County's medical director, County Executive Robert Ficano and
the head of the county's Health and Human Services Department.

"It was a hard call to make. Sometimes (drug overdoses) goes in
waves," Schmidt said. "It's sometimes hard to tell when a particular
drug is significant."

Fentanyl, a synthetic form of morphine about 50 times more potent,
acts on the central nervous system to relieve pain. The drug comes in
injectable form or pain patches and it is typically used in hospitals
to control severe pain. A handful of victims have been found wearing
Fentanyl patches.

In some other cities, where Fentanyl has cropped up, police have gone
to the streets and shelters with pamphlets alerting users of the risk.

Wayne County officials on Friday said they will work to spread the
word of its danger through hospitals, county-run substance abuse and
mental health programs.

"We realize it is a common practice," for addicts to mix the drugs,
Ficano said.

He said the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration also is
investigating the deaths.

Korzeniewski was weeks out of rehab and about to start a new job when
he died, his family said. His family and friends believe he was ready
for a new, drug-free life.

Wynns said that almost immediately after Korzeniewski died,
surrounded by syringes and paraphernalia in the bathroom of a store
owned by his family, she felt the facts didn't add up.

She understood that Korzeniewski, who battled addiction and legal
troubles for years, had relapsed, but didn't believe heroin alone was
responsible.A wave of deaths

At one point, Wynns says, responding to her skepticism, a Lincoln
Park police detective mentioned there had been some unusual
drug-related deaths, but police were unsure if Korzeniewski's was related.

The cause of death of Korzeniewski's death certificate was listed as pending.

Wynns wanted an explanation.

Then, in late April, she heard on the news that Fentanyl-laced drugs
were causing waves of deaths in other cities. She passed that
information on to Lincoln Park police and then, in a phone call,
asked the same detective to investigate further. The detective, she
said, said he was unaware of a Fentanyl problem in Wayne County.

Wynns wrote to a television station and was referred to an official
at the Detroit office of Drug Enforcement Administration. Wynns said
she called several times but never heard back.

Days later, the Wayne County Medical Examiner's office confirmed he
died of accidental death due to Fentanyl intoxication.

"It's just so hard to review this thing," said Nassif Abraham,
Korzeniewski 's grandfather, before beginning to cry.

Korzeniewski's friends are hoping news of the deaths scares drugs
users enough to stop more deaths, she said.

"It's still out there," she said.