Seattle bus driver sickened by passengers using fentanyl, says city health officials ignoring his complaints

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Seattle bus driver sickened from fentanyl smoke

Seattle bus driver Stevon Williams joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss how he believes second-hand fentanyl exposure has impacted his ability to do his job. 

A Seattle bus driver says fentanyl exposure from passengers made him so sick that he had to take medical leave for months, and he was repeatedly sent back to work after doctors refused to treat him because his claim would not be accepted.

"It's a terrible feeling," King County Metro driver Stevon Williams told "Fox & Friends First" Wednesday. "I'm responsible for those passengers and, sometimes, there are kids on the bus. We have a school contract, so we have all children on these buses going back and forth to school during the daytime, but at nighttime it's dangerous."

"It [the fentanyl smoke] makes me dizzy, it makes my vision blurred, and the smell is terrible, and I immediately get overwhelming migraine headaches that today I still have constantly."

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An estimated 150 people die every day from synthetic opioid-related overdose deaths.  (University of Houston)

Williams said the issue began last June when he got sick while working and saw a doctor who he claimed refused to give him a thorough once-over.

"I got sick from chemical fentanyl exposure while working. I was off work for about four-and-a-half months… finally, they sent me to an independent neurologist who didn't really check me."

Williams said the neurologist sent him back to work only for the cycle to repeat in January.

"I got sick again," he said. "The same doctor came into the office and said, ‘There’s nothing I can do for you. They're not going to accept your claim.'"

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The Space Needle and Mount Rainier are seen on the skyline of Seattle, Washington, on Feb. 11, 2017. (REUTERS/Chris Helgren)

Local health officials claim there's "no real risk for the everyday person being exposed to secondhand opioid smoke" and the bus company's former CEO Terry White said those bothered should wear a mask.

Co-host Ashley Strohmier reported on White's remarks, quoting, "KN95 masks that we've come to know as helping to reduce the spread of COVID also filter chemical and other biological particles that are transmitted by air."

Williams took exception to the claim.

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"No, I'm not [buying that]," he said. "We have almost 2,000 complaints of drug smoking on the bus. We have about 60 cases of drivers who got sick while driving. We have about 20 drivers who were out… for smoking on the bus, so it doesn't pay for the health department to say that they have no evidence that shows it's harmful to anyone while there's cigarette smoke that's harmful to people…"

The buses running at night, according to Williams, mostly house the homeless and fentanyl addicts who have no place else to go. 

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King County Metro told local media it is doubling its security staff to address safety issues, including drug use.

"Metro is improving safety for both employees and customers. Drug use is prohibited on transit, and we are doubling our transit security staff to 140 officers with Council support," a Metro spokesperson told local AM radio station KOMO in a statement.