Overdose deaths targeted
Friends who don't report victims of drugs may face penalties
Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Salt Lake City, will sponsor the bill that would make it a class B misdemeanor to not render aid.
"Law enforcement feels like their hands are just tied. Parents are like, 'Isn't there any consequence for these kids that abandon their friends?' " she said. "If you're going to do drugs with your friends, and somebody gets into a bad situation, you can't just abandon them or you're going to be liable."
Although he has not yet seen the bill, Mike Sorich, Amelia's father, said he supported anything that would prevent a situation like what happened to his daughter from happening to someone else.
Amelia Sorich, 18, died in June after being injected twice with a "speedball," a mixture of cocaine and heroin, by her best friend during a party. But instead of calling 911 or a parent when they noticed Amelia was unconscious, they let her die, then dumped her body in the foothills above Bountiful.
The scenario was similar to that of 18-year-old Zachary Tyler Martinez, whose body was dumped at the Salt Lake County Hang-Gliding Park at the Point of the Mountain in March after he fatally overdosed.
"I think that there needs to be something done so that people just don't let people die. There has to be some consequence," Mike Sorich said. "If someone passes out and are on drugs, then there needs to be consequences (if no help is rendered). Currently the way the law sits now, there's nothing. I just think that's wrong."
Moss agreed to sponsor the bill after she was approached by Salt Lake County Sheriff's deputy Doug Lambert, a former member of the narcotics unit who specialized in juvenile drug use.
The idea for the bill came when Lambert responded to an overdose on the county's east side last month.
Stephen James Sill, 27, died of a drug overdose in November. He was living with a friend and was supposed to be up early, but slept in his downstairs bed all day. His friends later told investigators that they could hear what they described as a "death snore" coming from Sill, or very heavy, labored breathing.
"I thought, 'Wouldn't you want to go check on him?' " Lambert said.
It wasn't until later that afternoon that they tried to see if he was OK. "Instead of calling paramedics, (one of the friends) went to the freezer, got a bunch of ice cubes and put them on him to shock him (back to reality)," Lambert said.
Several hours later they called 911.
Comments
- Attempted murder case refiled 1:58 a.m.
- Sports on the air 1:38 a.m.
- This weekend on TV 1:38 a.m.
- Birthdays for Saturday, July 11 1:38 a.m.
- 2 men cited on LDS plaza 1:37 a.m.
- S.L. man spots stolen car — his 1:23 a.m.
- Girl critical after run-in with train 1:23 a.m.
- Probe of death treated as slaying 1:22 a.m.
- Taylorsville man arrested in robbery 1:21 a.m.
- HBO defends U. logo use in 'Love' 1:20 a.m.
- LDS seminary principal arrested
- Jazz brass debate Millsap match
- Reactions on Boozer speculation
- Teacher faces new sex charges
- Jazz talking Boozer trade?
- 2 men cited on LDS plaza
- Jazz down Oklahoma City
- 2 Tooele police officers fired
- BYU professor to work on Hebrew Bible
- Jazz finances not quite so bleak
- LDS seminary principal arrested
152 - Bronco collecting a galaxy of recruits
141 - Jazz talking Boozer trade?
136 - Blazers may offer Millsap a contract
123 - Jazz brass debate Millsap match
94 - Stadium of Fire flag burning was fake
94 - Fairness of BCS debated
81 - Chaffetz eyes challenging Bennett
74 - Letters: Single-payer system best
72 - Services bids farewell to Jackson
70
As more and more dads are put out of work in this economy, I've been...
The photographs are mysterious, brooding, dark. They show dimples and...
Have to match and move boozer
These were rampant crime spree shoplifters and the driver was willing to...
Either way, we win. You match, you (our division rival) pay much luxury tax....
YES we have free-agency to choose however when will society or even members...
Of course the Jazz weren't going to make such an offer to Millsap. Why would...
Just reward for the Jazz. The initial offer of 1 million was an insult and...
Boozer may be the best thing that ever happens to the Jazz. Neither of them...
"As for the girl, One encounter could be seen as a victim, multiple over a...
As a current LDS Religious Educator I am sick and sickened by what has been...
Lots of times people get accused for things they did not do. And i am hoping...


You can be the first to comment on this story.