Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard
Link copied to clipboard

Tyreek Lewis, 35, died after seeking relief from back pain — and unknowingly buying a fentanyl pill

Lewis, a father of two and stepfather to another two children, was gregarious and outgoing, with a wide circle of friends. Four hundred people came to his funeral last May, his mother said.

Tyreek Lewis, 35, a truck driver and musician from North Philadelphia, records a song. Lewis overdosed and died after purchasing an illicit fentanyl pill that he believed was a pharmaceutical opioid. Lewis suffered from back pain and couldn't afford to take the time off work to get an assessment at a pain clinic.
Tyreek Lewis, 35, a truck driver and musician from North Philadelphia, records a song. Lewis overdosed and died after purchasing an illicit fentanyl pill that he believed was a pharmaceutical opioid. Lewis suffered from back pain and couldn't afford to take the time off work to get an assessment at a pain clinic.Read moreCourtesy of Antoinette Hornsby

Tyreek Lewis’ back ached.

The 35-year-old from North Philadelphia worked as a truck driver, and long days in the driver’s seat had put him in enough pain that his girlfriend made him a doctor’s appointment in May 2021.

But to be referred to a pain management clinic for the relief he needed, Lewis would need to take time off work for more assessments and an MRI. It was time he felt he couldn’t afford.

That’s when a friend proposed another solution. “I know a guy who sells the same pills a doctor would give you,” the friend said, according to Lewis’ mother, Antoinette Hornsby.

Desperate for relief, Lewis bought two.

But the pills Lewis had purchased were illicit fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. They had been pressed into pill form and sold on the street to look identical to the safer pharmaceutical opioids.

Hours later, his girlfriend found him unconscious on the bathroom floor. Two days later, he was pronounced dead at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia.

» READ MORE: Overdoses are killing a record number of Philadelphians as deaths soar among Black residents

Hornsby said she had known very little about fentanyl before her son died. The loss transformed her into a vocal advocate for overdose prevention and education. Hornsby, who lives in Georgia, is now encouraging her own local police department to carry the overdose-reversing drug naloxone. She is also creating a virtual memorial to her son and others lost to fentanyl.

Lewis, a father of two and stepfather to another two children, was outgoing. Four hundred people went to his funeral, his mother said.

A musician in his spare time, he released several rap CDs and was passionate about songwriting — he’d been writing his own music since 13. As a kid, he loved to play hockey and skateboard.

He was extremely proud of his children — one son is in college at Drexel University and two of his sons recently graduated from Temple University and the city firefighter’s academy, respectively.

The family has coped as best they can with their unexpected loss, Hornsby said. Lewis’ youngest child, 4, has been dreaming about her father lately, his mother said.

For Hornsby, activism has helped her to work through her grief.

“No mother should have to bury her child, and if I can ease the pain of someone who’s going through what I’m going through, I’m happy with just that,” she said.