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These deaths were not accidents, and the world should know it

April 6, 2026

Her death certificate lists the cause as accidental, but her dad rejects that with every fiber of his being. He says Alexandra Capelouto’s death was clearly, absolutely, unequivocally not an accident.

It was in 2019, a few days before Christmas, when Alexandra took what she thought was a Percocet. She died from fentanyl poisoning in her Temecula bedroom shortly afterward. She was 20.

Her dad, Matt Capelouto, keeps her ashes in a sky blue urn. It’s adorned with a bright yellow sun and a pale night moon, like the yin/yang mural she painted in her room. He has carried this urn — and his burning outrage — all over the state in his effort to convince lawmakers that people peddling pills packed with deadly fentanyl are not dealing drugs, but dealing death, and there’s nothing accidental about it.

There has been success. The man who sold Alexandra the fatal dose was indicted for distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. He later pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced to nine years in prison. The Capeloutos also won a won a $5.8 million judgment against the man in a civil suit.

“People don’t go to prison for accidents,” Capelouto said. “They go to prison for crimes.”

So he, and others who’ve suffered similar tragedies, want their loved ones’ death certificates to finally reflect what they see as the cold, hard facts.

California’s “Not An Accident Bill” — State Senate Bill 1071 by Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, R-Yucaipa, and coauthored by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine — would create a path to do just that.

The bill would allow a family member to seek a judicial determination on the loved one’s manner of death, then ask the State Registrar to issue a new death certificate reflecting that new determination.

“If someone has been held accountable or liable for a death, that constitutes a homicide,” Capelouto said. “That is the truth.”

‘Outdated’

There are five general categories of death on death certificates: Homicide, suicide, natural, undetermined and accident.

“They were created in 1910. It’s a bit outdated, in my opinion, and needs to be updated,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that we need a law to address this.”

While “distribution of fentanyl resulting in death” cases are relatively new, drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter cases are not. There were more than 1,300 alcohol-related traffic deaths in California in 2023, according to state data, and some 2,600 people have been charged with vehicular manslaughter since 2019, according to a CalMatters investigation.

Matt Capelouto holds the urn of his daughter Alexandra as the man accused of selling fentanyl that killed her faces possible conviction in Riverside on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. Capelouto says the design was one of her favorite paintings she was proud of and decided to replicate it on her urn. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)

But even when drivers are convicted of second degree murder or manslaughter, their victims’ death certificates still say “accident.”

These families might comprise the largest slice of those seeking new death certificates under a new law. The certificates are not just medical documents, Capelouto said: They’re legal documents with implications for things like insurance, and they are the historical record.

The bill’s first hearing is slated for Wednesday, April 8, at the Senate health committee. A few letters of opposition have already arrived, with medical examiners and coroners arguing that they couldn’t categorize DUI or fentanyl deaths as homicides, because homicide requires intent.

Supporters say that’s not true. Coroners have listed “homicide” as the cause of death in police excessive force cases, even when there was no evidence suggesting an explicit intent to kill.

Reckless behavior or a callous disregard for human life can also constitute homicide, they argue, which is why the law recognizes first degree murder, second degree murder and manslaughter, each reflecting a different level of intent and responsibility.

Capelouto is slated to be joined by Candace Lightner, founder of We Save Lives and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, for a press conference before the hearing. Together, the two have launched a national “Not An Accident” campaign.

‘Seeking accuracy’

On May 3, 1980, Lightner’s 13-year-old daughter Cari was walking to a church carnival in Fair Oaks. A car driven by a man with a history of intoxication arrests — and who had been arrested for drunk driving just days before — swerved out of control and killed her.

Lightner raged that this was “the only socially accepted form of homicide.” Thus MADD was born. Laws, and the world, changed.

They hope Not An Accident will make similar changes. “We challenge the language that hides responsibility,” the organization’s mission statement says. These deaths “are the result of criminal and preventable choices made with full awareness of their risks and a complete disregard for human life. They are not accidents. They are homicides!”

They’ve launched an online petition urging coroners, medical examiners and public agencies to change their ways. California is the opening salvo, but action is under way in Washington state and they plan to take the battle nationwide.

“We hope this will become model legislation,” Capelouto said of SB 1071. “As goes California, so goes the rest of the nation.”

Heather Barclay, an accident investigator with the Fullerton Police Department, gathers evidence from an early-morning crash involving a suspected DUI driver. The driver, identified as Christopher Solis, 22, veered onto a sidewalk and hit 9 pedestrians, police said. Some of the victims were trapped beneath the truck, according to authorities. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Christine Capelouto holds a picture of her late daughter Alexandra, who died from drug use, prior to a press conference in downtown Riverside Monday morning Feb. 22, 2021. The district attorneys office has filed a second-degree murder charge against alleged drug dealer Joseph Costanza who is accused of supplying drugs laced with fentanyl to a victim who overdosed and died. It is unknown if Alexandra Capelouto was one of the victims. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)