San Bernardino mother opens up on son's overdose death hoping to raise awareness of the dangers of fentanyl
A San Bernardino mother is opening up about about her son's death in 2021, hoping that her story will hope raise awareness about the true dangers of fentanyl.
Last August, Victor Aguilar purchased what he thought were two Percocet pills. However, they turned out to be laced with a deadly dose of fentanyl. He took one of the full pills, while his girlfriend, Alicia Hafey, took half of the other.
While Hafey woke up sick the next morning, Aguilar's parents found him unresponsive in their Apple Valley home, rushing him to a hospital where he remained on life support for 19 days until he died.
"This destroys people. It's destroyed my family -- me," said Aguilar's mother Drina Cordova. "I'm without my son, my baby."
The family didn't know at the time of his hospitalization that Hafey was pregnant, now caring for their three-month-old baby, Victor Jr., with Cordova's help.
"I know he'd want me to be happy, so I'm not gonna be sad," Hafey said.
"Victor was such a good kid and he would have been such a good dad. This boy was robbed from his father," she said.
The case is an active and ongoing investigation, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, who also noted that they believe to have identified the person who sold Aguilar the drugs -- a family acquaintance.
Still, they're unsure if they can pin his death on the suspect, who is now on the run.
Cordova is understanding of their struggles, but left wondering why more hasn't been done about the fentanyl epidemic nationwide.
"We just know they run across a lot of red tape. And they're trying their best," she said of sheriff's investigators. "Why isn't it more important for our government officials, for our people in office?"
As she takes it on herself to make others aware of the danger Cordova hopes that her message reaches parents and prompts them to discuss the growing issue.
"I kept my kids very sheltered, and it makes me more mad because you try and protect your kids and then this stuff happens," she said. "Then you feel guilty, like, maybe I should have educated them more."
She's using that tragedy to try and educate teenager about the dangers of fentanyl, utilizing TikTok to raise awareness.
