A snow plow driver found 23 year-old Brent Smith dead in his car one cold morning in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Since his early teens, Brent had been in and out of trouble and treatment centers because of his alcohol and drug addiction. An attempted suicide brought him back home to his parents but his old habits returned and he was kicked out of the house for smoking dope in front of his younger brother. Parents Barb and Tim Smith felt a little guilty about resorting to tough love, but Brent had left them little choice. Less than a week later, they were notified of their son’s death. Can you imagine how guilty they felt? Wait, there’s more.
Brent Smith died from carbon dioxide poisoning, the coroner’s report showing no drugs or alcohol in his blood at time of death.
Regardless of toxicology findings, addiction killed Brent Smith. You can blame his addiction on why his car was wrecked causing a leaky exhaust system and why homeless he idled it through the night seeking refuge from the cold. You can also blame the addiction for the undeserved but no less real guilt his parents will suffer from for the rest of their lives. I can not imagine that the irony that their son died “cold sober” has gone unnoticed.
A sad story for sure, addictions can kill in many ways and many families can suffer from them long after the addict or alcoholic is dead. My hat is off in a TDA salute to Barb Smith though, because she has decided that Brent’s death will serve a higher purpose. She has published a memoir in which the proceeds will go to fund a local treatment center.
