IREDELL COUNTY -- A father is using his son’s untimely death from prescription drugs to raise awareness of the risks.

In January, 15-year-old Micael Lane died in Iredell County when authorities said he accidentally overdosed from the prescription drug Oxymorphone. The medication is used to treat severe pain, but if taken improperly, can have tragic results.

"He was the epitome of health, he was planning on doing football here,” said Tom Lane of his son. “We were planning on going out and purchasing him his car for his 16th birthday [but it] never happened.”

“[The drug] immediately stuck him in a coma, made his lungs filled with fluids and his heart stopped,” described Lane. Now, the father is turning his loss into a calling and urging families and school leaders to realize the dangerous new-age prescription drugs now floating among teenagers – and their sometimes deadly consequences.

"It can happen to anyone, it doesn't matter if your kid is a straight A student and perfect,” said Lane. “Peer pressure is a strong thing.”

“Parents need to really watch their medications, and understand that children of today are very curious,” added Detective Dana Blalock of Troutman, who continues to work the case and determine who got Oxymorphone into the wrong hands.

"Things are coming to a climax in the investigation which has been going on now for three months,” said Blalock.

The Center for Disease Control said there was a 63 percent rise in drug overdose deaths between 1999-2004. The CDC attributed the jump primarily to the higher use of prescription painkillers like Oxymorphone.