Accidental Overdose Killed Afghan Vet

Christopher S. Smith, an Army veteran who was injured in Afghanistan in 2006, died in August from an accidental overdose of a powerful pain medication, the Clark County, Ohio, coroner's office has ruled.

Senior investigator Tom Comer said toxicology results showed Smith, 25, died from an overdose of fentanyl, a drug the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned people about because of accidental overdoses.

"It would have been an accident. It was not suicide," Comer said.

The 2001 Fairmont High School graduate was pronounced dead at 4:15 a.m. on Aug. 28 at his girlfriend's South Charleston residence. She had summoned medics when she was unable to awaken him.

Sheila Smith of Fairborn said her son had been prescribed stronger pain patches before he died.

"It is so sad and tragic that Chris survived so many gun battles, being blown out of a Humvee, being blown off the side of a mountain several times, as well as other attacks, only to die in America, because a drug manufacturer cared more about profits than human life," she said. "If this information saves just one family from going through this heartache, it will be worth it."

The FDA in 2005 issued a public health advisory and information for health care professionals about the fentanyl patch, warning "that deaths and other serious problems have resulted from accidental doses."

The patch is applied to the skin and delivers a strong opiate analgesic that is 80 times more potent than morphine. Last winter, one company issued a recall on certain prescription skin patches containing fentanyl because of possible overdose risk.

FDA spokeswoman Karen Riley said she did not know how many people have died from accidental overdoses of the drug.

Smith, a former Army sergeant who served with the 10th Mountain Division, was injured in Afghanistan while he was a gunner in June 2006. He was thrown from a Humvee and landed on his head after a rocket-propelled grenade struck the vehicle. He ruptured several discs in his neck and back and was later diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.

Smith had been honorably discharged and medically retired from the Army in February, nearly four years after he enlisted.

He had been accepted to Wright State University and was looking forward to pursuing his interest in structural engineering, his mother said.