Comedian Kate Quigley, who barely survived a house-party overdose that killed three friends a week ago, says she is “changed forever” by the tragedy.
“All I can say is: Tell your people that you love them every day. Stay safe. And please don’t take life for granted. I did, and I never will again,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
Quigley was with Fuquan Johnson, 42; Enrico Colangeli, 48; and Natalie Williamson, 33, in Venice Beach on Sept. 4 when they reportedly used cocaine that may have been laced with the painkiller fentanyl.
Only Quigley could be saved. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition. A day later, her mother said in a Facebook post that she could not stay “lucid for more than a moment at a time.”
On Thursday, the stand-up comic and actress posted a brief update, thanking her friends and fans for support.
“I’m still healing physically & mentally. But reading all these positive messages from u guys is really makin me cry tnight,” she wrote.
Finally home from the hospital on Saturday, Quigley said in a new post that she’d had the “time & clarity” to address the incident at greater length.
“I feel overwhelmed by the outpouring of kind messages and am incredibly grateful to be surrounded by a strong community of friends, family, colleagues, and fans who have offered their support during this time; and to the team of paramedics, nurses, and doctors who saved my life,” she wrote.
“Words cannot describe the pain I am feeling,” she continued, going on to pay tribute to the victims.
“Fu was a generous, loving soul. He was hilarious, supportive, and incredibly authentic with the most infectious spirit,” she wrote of Johnson, who was a fixture on the L.A. standup circuit.
“Rico was always filled with enthusiasm,” she said about Colangeli, another local comic. She added that her friend Williamson “was so kind and endearing.”
“They each made an indelible mark on my life and the lives of their loved ones. I will miss them.”
Quigley, who hosts a podcast, did not discuss the particulars of the party or the overdose, adding: “There are so many more things i want to say, but I’m not ready. When I am, I will.”
The LAPD has not said whether it has opened a criminal case into the overdoses.