In Dec 2020, my 17-year-old son, Zach, was with some of his friends at our local mall shortly after it had reopened following Covid lockdown restrictions. Zach and his friends were thrilled to have the ability to experience the last months of their social life in the manner they all imagined it would be like as HS Seniors. None of us, however, imagined that drug dealers and traffickers were also at our local mall deceptively peddling poison for profit through calculated exploitation of popular social media apps.
While at the mall, Zach and his friend had first met a drug dealer and had purchased what they were told, was a legitimate & harmless Percocet pill from this stranger who had only recently been placed on probation. Instead, they were sold a fake pill made of illicit fentanyl and Zach had no chance.
Zach was a high caliber kid, successful in all aspects of academia, athletics, music & community service. A straight-A student and active in scouting while nearing completion of his goal of earning the Eagle rank in Scouting. Zach was also a recognized multisport athlete, learned to play four musical instruments and held the lead role in his school musical production called High School Musical.
Zach loved his family, friends and life. He was truly a charismatic soul to all, and a bright light in our world….one any family would enjoy to have. Only 3 months after he died, Zach’s mother and I opened his acceptance letters into 5 U.C.s including UCLA on what would have been his 18th birthday.
Only 2 days after Christmas, I found my youngest child, Zach in his bedroom appearing to be asleep but not breathing. As a retired veteran, I never imagined I would use my military training to actually give CPR to a soldier on a battlefield, yet alone, to my own son in his bedroom. After several hours of examining Zach’s body and inspecting his room, law enforcement, 1st responders and coroners announced they found no evidence of drug use (no drug products or paraphernalia) so Zach’s unexpected death was a mystery. Having no history of recreational drug use, depression or anxiety, they guessed my precious son had died from an undetected health complication. However, 2 months later, a toxicology report confirmed the cause of death was from fentanyl. Back in late 2020, the terms “fake pill” or “Naloxone” was not in our vocabulary and we felt unprepared with the changing drug landscape.
Casualties like these are not accidental, they are criminal. When people who willingly and intentionally advertise and sell products for their personal gain, which ultimately results in death, their actions should be reflected on a victim’s death certificate appropriately. Not an accident.
—Chris Didier (Zach’s Dad). 💙