Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Jun 20
Daveigh Chase's Mother Says 2016 Crash Triggered Addiction Before Homelessness and Death
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Jun 20

Daveigh Chase's Mother Says 2016 Crash Triggered Addiction Before Homelessness and Death

3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jun 20

Summary

  • Cathy Chase said her daughter’s decline began after a 2016 motorcycle crash, when doctors prescribed oxycodone and other painkillers for a back injury.
  • The mother told the Daily Mail that drug use escalated into partying, repeated law-enforcement run-ins and estrangement; she said she had not seen Daveigh Chase since October 2019.
  • Los Angeles was where Chase had been living homeless with her boyfriend near the hospital where she died, and she had been admitted earlier this month for malnutrition.
  • Skid Row was among the places Cathy Chase searched for her daughter after a jail release years ago, saying she still blames herself for missing the pickup and losing contact.
  • Age 10 was when Chase broke out in "Donnie Darko" before voicing Chihiro in "Spirited Away" and Lilo in Disney’s 2002 hit "Lilo & Stitch."

Insights

From a legal prescription to a fatal infection, how did the system fail a beloved Hollywood voice?
With new drug threats emerging in Los Angeles, is the opioid crisis entering an even deadlier phase?
As a landmark $7.4B opioid settlement begins, can it prevent the next tragic Hollywood story?