Mix of drugs, alcohol is fatal - Asheville Citizen-Times

Adult home resident also a mental health client

By Leslie Boyd
LBOYD@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM

CANDLER — An adult care home resident died after consuming alcohol and a prescription drug not written out to him, an official with a company offering the man mental health services said Wednesday.

William L. Fries, 49, was found dead in his bed Tuesday at Canterbury Hills Adult Care home, according to a Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department report.

Fries got alcohol the night before from another Canterbury Hills resident who was driven to a liquor store by a Cleveland Family Services employee, said Cassandra Gash, manager of the company’s Asheville office. That employee was fired Wednesday, Gash said.

“This is just a tragic, tragic event,” she said. “These consumers are adults, and we walk a fine line. How can we keep these people safe in the community without curtailing their rights as human beings?”

Canterbury Hills is not a locked facility, and people can come and go at will, said Whitner Wright, owner of the company that manages Canterbury Hills.

Whitner said Fries’ cause of death had not yet been determined. He would not comment about possible drug use because toxicology tests had not yet been returned.

“He was well-liked here,” Wright said. “We’re all still in shock.”

Many Canterbury Hills residents receive mental health services such as counseling and one-on-one services from other providers.

Cleveland Family Services, based in Shelby, is one of those providers, and its workers cared for Fries and the woman who bought him alcohol the night before he died, Gash said.

Canterbury Hills residents are adults who can choose whether to drink, Gash said, but her employee was not supposed to drive a mental health client to a liquor store.

The facility is licensed to serve up to 99 people. Currently, it houses about 90 people. It is the largest adult care home in Western North Carolina.

Gash said Fries also had taken clonazepam, although he didn’t have a prescription for it. She said she didn’t know where he got the drug.

Clonazepam belongs to a class of medications called benzodiazepines, which act on the brain and central nervous system to produce a calming effect. It should not be mixed with alcohol.

Family members of Fries could not be reached.