Alton Banks: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

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Alton Banks

A 10-year-old Miami boy may be the youngest person to die as a result of being in contact with opioids in the area.

Alton Banks of Overtown suddenly collapsed and died on the floor at his family home back in late June. His cause of death had been a mystery as authorities attempted to find what may have triggered it.

Earlier in the day, Alton was at a nearby pool with friends, but there was no hard evidence of what may have led to his death after an investigation.

Then, the preliminary results of a toxicology test were released July 17. They showed that the child had the extremely powerful painkiller fentanyl in his system, and it ultimately led to his death.

Young victims of the drug, many who may be curious toddlers who take the drug by mistake, have been known to die from ingesting it. But with 51 victims under 5-years old in 2015, they account for a very small percentage of opioid deaths.

Now, the family and community are all searching for answers as to how the deadly opioid may have gotten into his system in the first place.

Here’s what you need to know about Banks:

1. Banks Was at a Pool During the Day & Died Later That Night

Alton Banks and his siblings.

The Miami Herald reported that on June 23, Alton, a fifth-grade student at Frederick Douglass Elementary School, went with a few friends to a gathering at a pool in the neighborhood. He returned home in the evening, but was discovered unconscious at the home on the 100 block of Northwest 13th Street.

Alton’s mother called 9-1-1 and paramedics rushed to the home and then the hospital. But when he arrived at Jackson Memorial, doctors pronounced him dead.

Police still aren’t sure if Banks was knowingly given the drug by someone or how he came into contact with it. Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle encouraged anyone with more information on his death to come forward.

“He was out playing, like we want all our children to do,” Rundle said to The Herald. “It’s unclear whether it was at the pool or on the walk home. We’re anxiously hoping that someone comes forward to help us solve this horrific death.”

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2. Alton’s Family Described Him as a ‘Fun’ Kid

Alton Banks

Although still uncertain, preliminary toxicology tests are shedding into light into Alton he died.

Authorities said there were no signs that suggested Alton had been in contact with the opioids at his home, though Overtown has been known for sales of the drug.

A December 2016 report by The Miami Herald said that “opioid addicts are overdosing in staggering number” within the city.

Since 2015, at least 31 people have died from overdosing on the drug. In addition to that statistic, Miami-Dade paramedics used Narcan to bring victims back to life 1,700 times in just the first nine months of 2016.

Investigators surmised that he could have “unknowingly come into contact” with fentanyl somewhere on the street.

Additional testing has been performed by the medical examiner, and a final death report is pending.

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3. Banks Was Described as a ‘Fun Kid’/h2>

A tribute poster remembering the life of 10-year-old Alton Banks.