BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Battling grief, a Brevard County mother who just lost her son to a suspected overdose wants others to learn from his mistakes.

  • Brevard mom lost her son to a suspected overdose
  • Fatal overdoses in the city could eclipse 2018 numbers
  • Melbourne's Police Chief looking to an awareness program

It's the latest death in the drug epidemic sweeping the nation.

Bobbie Dyer said her final goodbyes to her only son Thursday.

June 5 was that terrible day — 28-year-old Spencer Pacheco was found dead in a car. He had overdosed.

"He had issues where he had tried different drugs, he had gotten clean and was doing better, doing really well for nine months," she said.

The Sunday before, mother and son spent six hours together. It included dinner and positive conversation about where Spencer's life was headed.

"For the last three months he had been reaching out to me. I'm grateful for Sunday, we had a great day together," Dyer said.

A week and a half later, more than 100 family and friends gathered at Florida Tech's chapel for his memorial service.

Spencer's death was the fourth suspected overdose death in the first part of June in Melbourne.

Three other cases happened on June 1, June 2, and June 3.

"It's tragic and profound, and we treat it as such," said Commander Marc Claycomb with the Melbourne Police Department.

Fatal overdoses in the city could eclipse 2018 numbers. Last year 31 people died, and so far in 2019, there have been 18 deaths.

In 2018 there were 90 non-fatal ODs, and halfway through this year 40 have been reported.

"Things aren't changing for the better, so we need to take an initiative at every opportunity that we have," Claycomb said.

Spencer was an avid Orlando City soccer team fan, he fought for racial and gender equality, and he won't be forgotten.

But now, another mother is mourning her son's death.

"There is a lot of dead kids over the past two weeks in Melbourne," Dyer said. "It's really sad."

Dyer said her son was working at a local restaurant and planning on going back to school to get a history degree.

Due to this crisis, Melbourne's Police Chief is looking to an awareness program to present to high schoolers next year.