A heart-rending report from B.C.’s Coroners Service sheds new light on the overdose death of young Coquitlam actor Logan Williams.
The 16-year-old who played a key role as young Barry Allen in the TV show The Flash, died of an accidental fentanyl overdose while living at a Burnaby residential care home on April 2, 2020, according to coroner Adele Lambert.
The investigative findings laid out in the report describe Williams as an “athletic youth who had been a successful actor when he was younger.”
However, as he became older, the report explains, he struggled with mental health concerns and had a history of consuming illicit substances.
In 2019, he came into the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), which provided support services including residential treatment.
However, Williams often declined to participate, the report further states.
In February 2020, Williams was hospitalized for about two weeks after overdosing on illicit drugs and was subsequently diagnosed with a “significant brain injury that affected his memory and function.”
He then wanted to go into treatment and promised to follow medical advice. At the time, medical professionals documented the youth was “at high risk for serious injury or death.”
Williams was living in a Burnaby residential care facility, but went missing on April 1, 2020.
When he returned, he “appeared agitated and under the influence of a substance,” according to the coroner’s investigation.
Staff reported they conducted hourly checks on Williams, and he appeared to be sleeping.
However, when they attempted to wake him at 9:30 a.m., about five-and-a-half hours after he last spoke to them, he was unresponsive and not breathing.
When paramedics arrived, they did not attempt resuscitation as it was apparent that Williams was deceased. Drug paraphernalia was located near to the body.
Investigations took place following his death, including a police review, which found there were no suspicious circumstances, and a review by Fraser Health of the placement where Williams had been living.
The society responsible for the placement implemented a number of recommendations in the fall of 2020 for additional procedures and training including safety plans, bed checks and responding to medical emergencies, the report states.
MCFD is also in the process of completing a review following Williams’ death, according to the coroner’s report.
The actor was mourned by many fans, family and friends and his death took place during B.C.’s worst year of the overdose crisis, when 1,716 people died, according to the BC Coroners Service.
Williams grew up in Coquitlam, attended Hope Lutheran School and Terry Fox Secondary in Port Coquitlam.
He also appeared in When Calls the Heart as well as Supernatural and Whispers, according to his mother Marlyse, who told the Tri-City News at the time the family was “absolutely devastated" by his death.
