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Medical examiner: overdose deaths back to pre-COVID baseline; fentanyl remains dominant
Summary
Dr. Fulcher reported the Volusia County Medical Examiner's office is again fully accredited and that overdose deaths have fallen from a 2021 peak (~400) to about 180 annually, noting fentanyl (often mixed with methamphetamine and cocaine) remains the primary driver; council accepted the report 6-0.
Dr. Fulcher presented the Medical Examiner's 2025 annual report, told council the office is once again fully accredited and summarized trends in manners and causes of death across the county. "We have finally made it back to our pre COVID baseline for overdoses in this county... our old average was about 180. We went up to, unfortunately, 400 in 1 year, and now we're back down to about 180 again," Dr. Fulcher said.
He attributed improvements in overdose numbers to local recovery efforts and law enforcement, and described fentanyl as the dominant drug appearing in overdose deaths, often in combination with methamphetamine and sometimes cocaine. The report noted demographic patterns (a male preponderance and average overdose age rising to 48), peer-review practices, increases in tissue and eye donation work, and a persistently elevated share of accidental deaths tied to motor-vehicle collisions and falls among older residents.
Council members asked for detail on falls, pediatric motor-vehicle deaths and pedestrian trends; Dr. Fulcher pointed to age-related morbidity after hip fractures and to a concentration of pedestrian deaths involving unhoused individuals and nighttime risky behaviors. After discussion the council voted to accept the Medical Examiner's annual report, 6-0.
