Friends have confirmed the identify of the teen who died of a suspected drug overdose last weekend in the Greater Victoria area as Dorrian Wright.
RCMP in the West Shore area confirmed they were called to the sudden death of a 16-year-old boy on Sunday morning, but have not released his name.
Wright鈥檚 best friend, Kurtis Newell, remembers him as someone he could always count on, funny and spontaneous.
Newell was also Wright鈥檚 foster brother for two and a half years. He Wright wasn鈥檛 a bad kid or a drug addict, but confirmed that he overdosed at a party.
鈥淓ver since Dorrian moved into the house, it was awesome. He was always there for me and I was always there for him. We were always there for each other,鈥� Newell said.
鈥淗e was a great kid, he had a great life to live, he was always there for anybody that needed him.鈥�
Earlier this year, Newell moved out of the foster house he shared with Wright and moved back in with his mom. The two were still inseparable, and Wright would go to Newell鈥檚 house to hang out or spend the night.
Newell said Wright even helped him get over a drug problem 鈥� Newell used to be a 鈥渄owntown kid,鈥� with a severe addiction to meth and crack.
鈥淚f it wasn鈥檛 for Dorrian, I probably wouldn鈥檛 be here right now.鈥� he said. 鈥淗e helped me so much, he came downtown with my brother, picked me up and took me back to Langford.鈥�
For three weeks, while Newell was going through withdrawals, Wright never left his side, noting it鈥檚 hard to think about how much Wright helped him at that time. Newell said if he felt triggered to relapse, he would talk to Wright, and Wright was always there.
Newell said he feels as though he could have prevented Wright鈥檚 passing or that he should have protected him.
鈥淚 feel like if I was there, then he鈥檇 still be there today,鈥� Newell said, adding he lived just a few doors down from where Wright is believed to have died.
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