‘He should be a senior.’: Parents share story of UGA student’s fentanyl death with classmates

ATHENS, Ga. — Efforts to stop drug overdoses in Georgia took a personal turn as parents shared their tragic story in front of college students.

Angela King and her husband, Mike O’Kelley, spoke about their son Jack’s death for the first time to his classmates at the University of Georgia.

“He should be a senior this year. He should be in the building right now with us,” Angela King told Channel 2′s Courtney Francisco.

Jack O’Kelley, a junior at UGA, took a fake Xanax pill laced with fentanyl last November and never woke up. His mother said, “It was the worst day of our lives.”

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr invited Angela and Mike to participate in a panel discussion at the university to raise awareness among students about the dangers of drug use.

“It’s just not something I had to deal with at the UGA back in the ‘90s, but it is something that this generation has to deal with, so we’ve got to educate and make aware,” Carr said.

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Angela King urged students to be cautious.

“People share Adderral to study for tests. Go ahead and assume it’s laced with fentanyl. You’re playing Russian roulette. One pill can kill. Percocets, Xanax, any street drugs,” she said.

Students told Francisco that some buy drugs online or from dealers at bars or gas stations.

“I know friends that do,” One student said.

Jack was a straight-A student and the captain of the North Atlanta High School football team before attending UGA.

His parents emphasized that even someone as knowledgeable and capable as Jack could fall victim, urging other parents to talk to their kids.

“It could happen to anybody. Jack was the greatest kid ever,” Angela King said.

The panel discussion is part of Attorney General Carr’s broader efforts to curb overdose deaths and pursue those who sell drugs to students.

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