SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — On Super Bowl Sunday, a group of friends in South Lake Tahoe had a few drinks and used what they thought was cocaine.
Hours later on Monday morning, four of them were pronounced dead from a suspected fentanyl overdose.
Among the victims was 33-year-old Keely Pereira, whose “generosity was unmatched and style was effortlessly cool,” according to her younger sister, Casey Pereira.
“I’m angry at what happened to them. I’m angry at the people who sold them those drugs,” Casey told ABC10 at a community vigil for her sister Tuesday.
Keely Pereira was visiting her hometown from Mexico, where she was working as a boat captain.
“When she was on the boat, it was like the boat was built around her,” said her father, Donnie Pereira.
How the group of friends came into possession of the tainted drug is under investigation.
The CDC says drug dealers often cut cocaine and other drugs with powdered fentanyl to make them cheaper and more powerful, but it also makes them more dangerous.
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Now, Keely’s family is spreading the word about the dangers of fentanyl. They’re also passing out a life-saving medication, Naloxone, also known as Narcan.
“To raise awareness, that’s the key,” said Keely's mother, Gabrielle Weetman.
Through all of the pain, Casey says she still looks up to her big sister.
“I’m really proud of her,” Casey said. “Because in a strange way, she’s initiated this change for a lot of people.”
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