Prescription drugs becoming a new deadly pursuit
Two young Carpentersville men may be the latest victims of the new favorite in suburban drug abuse: prescription medication.
Eric F. Landeros, 18, and Florencio Reyes Jr., 20, both graduates of Dundee-Crown High School, died Sunday, apparently overdosing on oxycodone, police said.
Deaths linked to prescription drugs have "quadrupled or more" in the metropolitan Chicago area over the past 10 years, said Dr. Greg Teas, medical director of the chemical dependency program at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital in Hoffman Estates.
"Opiates in a pill form have become very popular because they're less scary to the consumer," Teas said.
And people often mistakenly believe prescription drugs aren't as lethal as illegal ones, because they've been legally prescribed by a doctor.
But in truth, they can be just as deadly, especially when combined with alcohol or other pills, Teas said.
"They get high on the drugs and then they want to get a better high and they think, 'I'll take a little more to get a better high,' and then they overdose," Teas said.
Then, there's the news factor.
Oxycodone, used to treat moderate and severe pain, was one of multiple prescription drugs found in 28-year-old actor Heath Ledger's system when he died of an overdose last month.
"If they see a celebrity who is in the news for using certain drugs, that does glamorize the use in the short run," Teas said.
The two young Carpentersville men seem to have fallen prey to this risky fad, according to police.
Nice kids recalled
Landeros was once an Elgin Academy student, playing basketball for the school's junior varsity squad, Headmaster John Cooper said.
One of Landeros' favorite hangouts was Jamba Juice in Carpentersville, said Lynn McCarthy, principal of Dundee-Crown High School. Landeros attended Dundee-Crown for his junior and senior years.
"He was very nice, very personable, always asking how Dundee-Crown was doing," McCarthy said of their Jamba Juice run-ins.
Reyes was born in Elgin and had a daughter named Autumn, whom he often called his "princess."
Reyes had a quiet, reserved personality, usually kept to himself at school and was polite to everyone, said Eberto Mora, an assistant principal at Dundee-Crown.
Both men graduated from the Carpentersville high school -- Landeros walked across the stage in 2007 and Reyes did the same in 2006.
They lived less than two miles apart.
They were together Saturday night when they apparently ingested the oxycodone, police said.
They died the next day -- police found them unresponsive at their homes and are trying to find out where and how they obtained the drug.
A third man who police said also took the drug was released from the hospital and is being questioned, Carpentersville police Cmdr. Michael Kilbourne said Tuesday.
Landeros' and Reyes' deaths are thought to be the only ones in Carpentersville tied to the drug, police said.
Picking up pieces
McCarthy announced the graduates' deaths to Dundee-Crown students Tuesday morning. Counselors were available as needed.
"We were shocked and saddened by this whole incident, and we really reminded the kids to be careful of what they're doing when they're in their groups and parties," McCarthy said.
Elgin Academy held an assembly to notify students about Landeros' death, Cooper said.
The 18-year-old had been a student there from seventh grade through his sophomore year, finishing up the rest of his high school career at Dundee-Crown, officials said.
Cooper said his heart goes out to the Landeros family.
"What a sad situation," he said. "I really feel for them."
Visitation for Landeros will be 4 to 8 p.m. today at Miller Funeral Home, 504 W. Main St., West Dundee.
Visitation for Reyes will be 4 to 9 p.m. today at Wait Ross Allanson Funeral Services, 51 Center St., Elgin.
Funeral services for Landeros will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, 845 W Main St., West Dundee. Burial will follow at River Valley Memorial Gardens.
Reyes' interment will be private.