think again. He was a jokester, a clown. He loved play- ing the trumpet in band and was an acolyte at Lutheran Church of the Master, Troy, Mich., where his mom is par- ish worker. Zach dreamed of the day he would drive his dad’s red Chevy Silverado and talked about becoming an Eagle Scout. He was a loving kid who would flop onto his big sister’s lap just to make her groan or walk into a lamp- post to get a laugh from his buddies. He was 13 when he died alone in his parent’s basement behind the furnace, unable to free himself from a noose he had made. His dad, Tony Dzbanski, a retired police officer, found him. He has to dig deep to talk about his son. Wedged into the corner of a couch in the pastor’s office at Lutheran Church of the Master, his voice is steady. He recalls see- ing a small bruise on Zach’s neck, perhaps a couple of inches long and nearly an inch wide. He thought Zach might be having trouble with kids at school. “I saw the bruise on his neck and asked him to tell me what was going on,” Tony said. “He said he was just screwing around, and I knew what he was saying, I used to get into fights when I was that age.” His mom, Linda, had another theory. She thought it
might have been a love bite from a girl. Linda said Zach was a normal kid, “but things got out of hand and he didn’t know what to do.” “We beat ourselves up all the time,” she added. “I’m convinced it was an impulsive act. We did all kinds of things as children and we lucked out. We thought we were invincible. ... It was just so horrible to be blindsided [by his death]. We didn’t expect Zach to do anything … so dangerous.” Zach’s parents believe a classmate introduced their son
T What is it?
he choking game is an oxygen deprivation activity popular among adolescents and teenagers. The same (or slight variation) activity is also known as eleva- tor, the pass out game, hangman, tap out, blackout and flatliner.
The object of the “game” is to stop blood flow to the brain until the player passes out in an attempt to get a “high” or “floaty” sensation, according to the Danger- ous Behaviors Foundation (
www.chokinggame.net). The choking game has been attracting, injuring and
killing teens for generations. It carries risks of seizure, memory loss, broken bones, concussions and poten- tially death. The game is usually played in groups, but when done alone increases the likelihood of severe per- manent brain damage and death.
Zach Dzbanski had his photo taken by his favorite driver Jeff Gordon’s race car—one year before the 13-year-old died playing the choking game.
July 2011 19
to the choking game in middle school. Zach was a fresh- man in high school when he died in February 2009. Afterward, his parents looked through computer files
and cellphone records for clues he was playing the game, but they found none. They also remember the night they were awakened about 3 a.m. by a loud thump. When Linda went to inves- tigate the noise, she couldn’t open the door and thought a rack on the back of his door had fallen and blocked it. In retrospect, she believes Zach blocked the door when he fell and blacked out after playing the choking game. Zach started having trouble with his schoolwork. Math was never easy for him, but he really began to struggle. And he complained of headaches. Privacy became a big issue, and he kept his bedroom door shut tight. His older sister, Rachael, now 22, was away at college when Zach died. “I didn’t know,” she said almost in a whisper. “I didn’t notice anything.” It’s hard for the family to talk about the day Zach died, but they’re intent on warning other families. All are in tears as Tony recalls that Zach had had a good day the Saturday before he died. He would soon be getting a learner’s permit for driving that big red Chevy and had earned a second place in a music competition. He’d worked hard that day, so his parents allowed him to sleep in on Sunday and stay home from church. Tony had worked the night shift and slept in as well, but at 11:30 started searching the house for Zach. Friends and church members have gathered around the
family for support. Tom Barbret, former pastor of Master, remembers that throughout the ordeal the family’s faith never faltered. “Their faith is the ultimate gift that God has given them,” he said.
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