Rich Lord and I followed the ripples of one overdose through three families for six months to learn more about how children are impacted by the crisis at hand. The interaction that we witnessed here was one of the most jaw dropping Rich or I have ever experienced, and Rich has been reporting for decades.
Donna Walker's daughter Danielle died after an evening at the apartment of "One-Eyed Vinnie." Scared of losing a chance to be reunited with his own daughter, he moved Danielle's body outside into the freezing December temperatures. In this video (if you can, turn the sound on), Donna went to Vinnie's court hearing to confront him about her daughter's last night.
When I asked Donna about how she found the courage to put herself into this situation, she likened it to a bear protecting her cubs. "It's just an instinct to take care of her, and she's not here, so it's all I can do," she said. "What good is life if you just walk away?"
There's so much more to share, but I'll start here. I hope you can take the time to watch the full video, read the story, and see more photos (including a photo essay from Danielle's 10-year-old daughter, Izzy) at this link here.