‘Opioid Hearse’ rolls into Jackson

JACKSON, Tenn. — The ‘Opioid Hearse’ rolled into Ridgecrest Cemetery Friday morning.

“This is a message that no one wants to lose a loved one, and we’ve lost too many in Madison County to opiates,” Sheriff John Mehr said.

Bob Arrington came up with the idea after attending the National Funeral Directors Leadership Conference last year. The hearse has been 11 months in the making.

“We as funeral directors are saying we don’t want this. You’ve got to understand this is where you end up,” Arrington, president of Arrington Funeral Directors, said.

The hearse was donated for the project. Arrington says the images and wording on the hearse were chosen to make an impact.

“You’ve got to hit people pretty hard, when you’ve got something that’s just rolling by you, you’ve got to hit them hard.”

Funeral home directors are hoping things like the opioid hearse will wake people up to realize how big of an opioid epidemic were having here in the U.S. so hopefully this won’t be there last ride.

“We want families to speak up,” Sheriff Mehr said.  “If you’ve got a relative, don’t wait until they’re gone and you’re at the funeral home making arrangements, speak up now to get them some help.”

According to the CDC more than 1,600 people died because of an opioid over dose in Tennessee in 2016.

Sheriff Mehr says he hopes this hearse will help bring that number down in the years to come.

“We want to get the message out if we can save one life, it’s worth it,” Sheriff Mehr said.

The hearse will be seen at parades, schools and civic events all across West Tennessee.