PORT ANGELES – Clallam County set all time highs in the number of fatal drug overdoses and accidental deaths last year.

Clallam County Prosecutor and Coroner Mark Nichols says they’re still awaiting final toxicology reports on some cases, but 2023 most likely will show 47 drug overdose deaths. That’s the highest ever recorded for Clallam County.

“Given our current numbers, we are now squarely in third position among the 39 Washington counties. So, we are the third highest County by population with respect to incidents of fatal drug overdose,” said Nichols. “So that’s a huge problem for us. One of the reasons. I like to talk about. This is to try to raise a yellow flag and let folks know who are focusing on this what’s happening. We are definitely heading in the wrong direction.”

Nichols says if numbers hold through 2024, the county could see 70 drug overdoses this year.

The number of accidental deaths last year hit 50. That’s another high for Clallam County.

“It’s common that what we see a story involving a senior citizen who took a fall. Maybe they knock their head on the kitchen counter on the way down to the floor. The family was able to assist them back to their feet and they don’t see any obvious bruising. There’s no blood and they’re able to carry on a dialogue and so believe that everything is fine when in reality the individual who fell through the act of hitting their head may have incurred a subdural hematoma, and if that’s not addressed timely, that can result in demise,” said Nichols.

 Nichols says the number of coroner cases has continued to rise from 208 in 2018 to 335 last year.