Arizona dad faces child abuse charges after his 2-year-old son dies of suspected fentanyl overdose

PHEONIX, ARIZONA: The tragic death of a 2-year-old boy after a suspected fentanyl overdose has shocked the Phoenix community. It has also highlighted the growing threat the synthetic opioid poses across Arizona, according to AZFamily.

The father of the dead child, Oswaldo Lozano, 27, is facing charges of negligent homicide, child abuse and drug possession.

Oswaldo Lozano was struggling with fentanyl addiction

The series of devastating events unfolded on the evening of Friday, December 1, when Phoenix police were called to Banner University Medical Center about a child who was not breathing.

Officers noticed a truck parked hastily outside the hospital entrance with drug paraphernalia scattered across the floor.

Hospital staff had notified the police after a young patient, who was just 2 years old, was pronounced dead after he could not be revived.

The boy's father, 27-year-old Oswaldo Lozano, was at the hospital and later admitted to detectives that he was struggling with a severe fentanyl addiction. Lozano confessed he had been watching his son that afternoon at their home when he fell asleep on the couch after taking fentanyl pills.

When he awoke, Lozano found his son lying unconscious on the floor surrounded by the dangerous pills.

Oswaldo Lozano faces charges of negligent homicide, child abuse and drug possession

Lozano said he unsuccessfully tried to revive his son by injecting Narcan and performing chest compressions. He called his employer and wife, asking for help, before driving the unresponsive toddler to the hospital in a desperate bid to save his life. But it was too late. The pills had already proved lethal.

Detectives recovered fentanyl pills and syringes both from Lozano's truck and inside the family’s home. Lozano now faces charges including negligent homicide, child abuse and drug possession.

He had apparently struggled with substance use issues before and brought pills home on past occasions, facts the boy’s mother corroborated in interviews with investigators.

Accidental fentanyl poisoning cases involving children are 'becoming more common' in Arizona

The tragic death has shaken child health experts across Arizona who say accidental fentanyl poisoning cases involving children are painfully common.

“Unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more common,” said Phoenix pediatrician Dr Gary Kirkilas. “That one pill can kill.”

He noted fentanyl's resemblance to candy makes it all the more tantalizing and dangerous for toddlers exploring their environments.

State health data shows fentanyl caused every deadly pediatric opioid overdose last year. In all, 34 Arizona children died from fentanyl in 2022 — eight of them under age 5.

The Arizona Child Fatality Review Program found that in 98 of 146 child neglect and abuse deaths last year, the parents had a history of substance use problems.

After teens, between the ages of 15 to 17, the second most impacted age group was infants under 1.

“It is an illness. It can be treated. There are ways out,” Kirkilas said, emphasizing the importance of addiction treatment resources across the state.