CARROLLTON, Texas — A roundtable led by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) gathered in Carrollton on Monday to discuss the fentanyl crisis sweeping the country.
There were parents in attendance who were united in grief. Together, they're fighting against what killed their children.
Lilia Austudillo’s 14-year-old son, Jose Alberto Perez, died this year after overdosing on fentanyl.
”Losing a child to fentanyl is devastating experience that no parent should have to go through. The pain is indescribable and grief overwhelming. As a mother losing a child is losing a part of myself,” said Austudillo.
Ryan Vaughn also understands the grief. His 16-year-old daughter Sienna, a Plano Senior High School cheerleader, died in her bedroom after taking a fake Percocet laced with fentanyl.
“We had a nice dinner, they went upstairs and discovered them an hour or two hours after taking the pills my daughter was already... Her friend was making last breaths,” said Vaughn.
Her friend survived after being given Narcan, a drug that reverses an opioid overdose, but it was too late for Sienna.
And Saniyah Rodriguez told her story of walking into her high school’s bathroom and seeing a classmate overdosing.
“I was going into the bathroom not expecting anything like this to happen,” said Rodriguez.
She had just watched a video at school about how to recognize when someone is overdosing, so she immediately went into action.
”When I heard the gurgling and saw her turn blue, and I seen that. I immediately went to get help,” said Rodriguez.
There are thousands of similar stories. That’s why Cornyn brought police, school administrators, counselors and victims together in Carrollton.
This year three Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD students died of fentanyl overdose.
“We are trying to raise visibility to others so that people will know one pill kills,” said Cornyn
The senator said he is helping draft a bill that would fund drug treatment programs and help police dismantle drug trafficking organizations.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said it's needed.
“When these entities are pressing these pills and making them and cause to come across it is with the intent to kill Americans -- this is not a drug war but to kill our youth,” said Creuzot.
Creuzot said he’s testifying on Tuesday on a bill that would make tracking fentanyl mandatory across the state.
“We can track it we can warn parents and we can look for the distributors if they are in neighborhoods and take appropriate actions,” said Creuzot.
They all agreed it will take everyone raising awareness to try and stop fentanyl from killing more people.