By Dean Maddox, Public Safety & Crime Reporter
Most Californians know someone who has struggled with addiction or lost a loved one to an overdose. Over the past decade, the opioid and fentanyl crisis has exploded into one of the worst public health and public safety disasters California has ever faced.
Fentanyl-related deaths in the state surged dramatically — opioid overdose fatalities jumped more than 120% between 2019 and 2021 alone, with synthetic opioids like fentanyl driving the overwhelming majority of that increase. California recorded over 7,200 fentanyl deaths in 2023, and San Francisco County continues to rank among the very worst in the nation for overdose death rates, second only to Baltimore in recent data.
These preventable deaths go beyond street drugs. Impaired driving remains a deadly parallel problem. According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, 1,355 people were killed in alcohol-involved crashes in 2023 — a nearly 55% increase from 2014.
Yet in far too many of these cases, death certificates for fentanyl poisonings and impaired driving fatalities are still labeled “accidents,” even after courts have ruled them homicides. This misclassification hides the true scale of the violence and stands in the way of real solutions.
Senate Bill 1071, authored by Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa), seeks to change that. The “Not An Accident” bill would create a formal process for families to petition and correct a loved one’s death certificate once a court has determined the death was a homicide.
The legislation passed the Senate Health Committee unanimously on a 9-0 vote and has advanced through Senate Judiciary. It now heads toward a full Senate vote before moving to the Assembly.
Prominent supporters include Candace Lightner, founder of We Save Lives and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), who has spent decades pushing to recognize impaired driving as a deliberate crime rather than an accident after losing her 13-year-old daughter Cari in 1980. Matt Capelouto, founder of Stop Drug Homicide, whose daughter Alexandra died after taking what she believed was a legitimate prescription pill later found to be laced with fentanyl, is also backing the measure.
Accurate death records matter. They give grieving families official recognition of what truly happened, equip policymakers with better data on the real scope of violent crime and impaired driving, and stop the dangerous minimization of preventable deaths.
If passed, California would be the first in the nation to implement this reform. Supporters say other states are already considering similar legislation. For more information or to get involved, visit NotanAccident.info.
The Sacramento Daily Press will continue tracking SB 1071 as it moves through the legislative process.
Dean Maddox
Knows every badge, beat, and scandal in town. Writes like a detective, drinks like a suspect. When the truth gets messy, Dean gets to work.
