By Natalia Rueda 
Workers at a flagging job site in San Diego, California, experienced a horrific tragedy when one of their colleagues died and another was critically injured following the acceptance of a bottle of water from a stranger.
The flag-bearers were responding to high temperatures, and the stranger driving by the job site offered them bottled water. Unfortunately, the bottles of water were laced with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid painkiller. Only minutes after they downed the water – meant to save them from heat exhaustion – they began to show signs of distress.
This incident shines light on the heightened risk of accepting gifts from strangers, a lesson that all workers must now take to heart. Safety protocols around this behavior must be adopted to prevent such an occurrence from ever happening again.
Although the physical safety of workers is of the utmost importance, mental health is also a concern. Working in intense heat can lead to extreme exhaustion, and the gesture of kindness from the stranger may have been too tempting for the flaggers to pass up.
It is up to employers to instill safety protocols that protect their workers. Providing an adequate amount of water and shade options is a great place to start, to ensure employee wellbeing. Further, advising personnel of the dangers inherent in accepting gifts from strangers is also key.
It is a sad tragedy for the family and friends of the deceased, and a reminder and warning to workers every where to be aware of the risks of acceptance presents from strangers.