Drugs kill Lakewood Ranch man. COVID-19 ‘destroyed everything he had going,’ dad says

While the Florida Department of Health tracks the number of fatalities related to COVID-19, the true death toll associated with the pandemic will likely never be known.

The official count likely will never include people like Jason Unger, a 37-year-old Lakewood Ranch man who died Tuesday from a fentanyl overdose, however the medical examiner’s office has not yet confirmed a cause of death.

His father said the pandemic is to blame for his son’s death, by destroying the structure he was relying on to rebuild his life after drug addiction and prison.

Jason Unger’s life story that led to his death isn’t a pretty one.

It’s one of a long battle with drug addiction that led him down a dark corridor that included crime, jail and prison.

His father, Richard Unger, said it was important to tell his son’s story because society looks at someone like his son and sees something that isn’t true.

“The problem is the perception of a drug addict is so negative,” Unger said. “They don’t bother to look beyond the label and the addiction. When news reports talk about people passed out and they are brought back to life with Narcan, they have a whole story behind them.”

Don’t judge a book by its cover

For Jason Unger, it all began with being sexually abused when he was a young boy in daycare. Later in life, in 1996, he would witness a drunk driver critically injured his twin brother as he was crossing the street.

“He was never the same after what happened to him as child,” Unger said. “He developed a stutter and then when he watched his brother get hit by that drunk driver, he was never the same after either of those two horrific events.”

Jason Unger was released from prison in November after serving time for drug-related crimes. His father said he was convicted of trafficking, but that his son never dealt drugs. He was caught trying to obtain drugs with an illegal prescription, which he had done before for his own use.

“There are a lot of seriously good people who fell prey to their addiction,” Unger said. “It’s rampant in America. It’s awful. As a parent, as a father, I tried everything. I tried every path, every road, every tunnel to save him. He was everything to me and this is so heart breaking, so heart shattering. I lost a part of myself.”

Jason Unger used his time in prison to be productive. He received several certificates in meat processing but couldn’t find work due to his drug convictions. He eventually found a job as a cook and was getting his body on track, as well while working out at the gym daily.

The physical and mental changes were keeping him on track. He was happy, confident and proud of his recovery.

The pandemic changed everything

Then the pandemic hit. Restaurants closed. Gyms closed. Jason Unger lost the two most important things that were keeping him grounded. He relapsed.

He was found in his bedroom Tuesday evening, propped up on the bed, cellphone in hand, foaming at the mouth and “ice cold,” Unger said.

“He was working hard,” Unger said of his son. “My two words to him were always, ‘Stay focused.’ Because of this pandemic, all of that structure he needed disappeared. Jason was my life, he was my son and I loved him. He had an incredible life ahead of him but this pandemic destroyed everything he had going.”

Unger acknowledged his son was a serious drug addict, but he was never a violent man.

“He never hurt or threatened anybody,” Unger said. “He was so friendly, outgoing, affectionate and warm. If you lined up a bunch of people, no one would ever be able to point to Jason as that kind of person. That wasn’t him. The pain of this is indescribable.”

Unger said he wanted to tell his son’s story for others that are struggling through the pandemic, and for people not to waste precious time on judging others.

“Unfortunately, this isn’t just my story,” Unger said. “There are others going through it.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 1:20 PM.