BELTON, Mo. — A Belton mom helplessly watched as her 15-year-old daughter died of an accidental overdose in late March of 2015. Bailey Wages was at a sleepover with friends when she started having seizures. Her friends were too scared to immediately call 911, and Bailey died soon after.
One year later, her mom is joining forces with local police and a Missouri representative. She’s fighting for a bill that could’ve saved her daughter’s life.
“This is Bailey’s room. Still all the same,” Lisa Benton said.
Benton hasn’t moved a thing, it is just how Bailey left it. She sometimes sleeps in her daughter’s bed, just to feel close to her.
“I miss her every single day,” Benton said.
On March 22, 2015, Bailey went to stay with some friends at a Raymore home. The next day, Benton got a frantic call. Bailey was found unresponsive at a friend’s house and was rushed to the hospital.
“I just kept kissing her on her forehead, telling her to breathe,” Benton recalled.
She watched helplessly, as life left her teenage daughter. She soon would find out that her daughter accidentally overdosed while at her friend’s sleepover.
“I never would’ve expected this out of her… she was a normal teenager… she made good grades,” Benton said.
She says her daughter had two seizures inside the home, before any of Bailey’s friends called 911. Two people have been charged, one is a minor, the other is 18-year-old Isaac Bobbitt. Bobbitt is charged with involuntary manslaughter.
“I was very, very angry at first. Very angry… what mother wouldn’t be angry? I was mad at the world, she wasn’t here,” she said.
It took Benton awhile, but she recently spoke with Bailey’s friends who were in that room. They told her they were terrified to call 911, fearing they would go to jail.
Raymore police captain Jim Wilson says cases like this, are all too common.
“It’s been my experience, they’re worried about everything. Whats happening to the person that’s ODing? What their parents are gonna think, what police are gonna do. They really don’t know what to do,” Wilson said.
It’s why Benton has now centered her life around the 911 good Samaritan bill. Under it, if someone calls 911 during an overdose, both the caller and victim can remain anonymous and be protected from a drug possession charge.
“I will push and push and push until it does get passed. Because I know she would want me to,” Benton said.
The bill is already law in 37 states, surrounding Missouri and Kansas. The opposed worry the bill could be a loophole for drug dealers, but callers and victims are only protected from charges if there is a very small amount of drugs in their possession.
Benton has linked arms with Missouri Representative Steve Lynch and plans to speak when the bill is brought to the house in January.
Bailey would’ve turned 17 in November. Every single day, Benton wonders what if? What if Bailey’s friends dialed 911 sooner?
What if?
“There’s no doubt in my mind… at all, that this would’ve saved her life,” she said.
Benton is getting a non-profit off the ground called Bailey’s purpose. Her goal is to educate teens on the signs of overdose. For more on Bailey’s purpose and the status of the 911 good Samaritan bill, click on this link.
