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’s best friend, Kurtis Newell, remembers him as someone he could always count on, funny and spontaneous.
Newell was also Wright’s foster brother for two and a half years. He Wright wasn’t a bad kid or a drug addict, but confirmed that he overdosed at a party.
“Ever 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,” Newell said.
“He was a great kid, he had a great life to live, he was always there for anybody that needed him.”
READ MORE: Grade 10 Belmont student dies from suspected overdose
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’s house to hang out or spend the night.
Newell said Wright even helped him get over a drug problem — Newell used to be a “downtown kid,” with a severe addiction to meth and crack.
“If it wasn’t for Dorrian, I probably wouldn’t be here right now.” he said. “He helped me so much, he came downtown with my brother, picked me up and took me back to Langford.”
For three weeks, while Newell was going through withdrawals, Wright never left his side, noting it’s 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’s passing or that he should have protected him.
“I feel like if I was there, then he’d still be there today,” Newell said, adding he lived just a few doors down from where Wright is believed to have died.
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