Kate Quigley is singling out one of her friends who died in a 4-person overdose incident earlier this month -- and that'd be Fuquan Johnson ... whom she says left an impression.
The comedian posted a photo of her and FJ together, with a lengthy caption that touched on why she hadn't highlighted him before ... and why she's doing it now. Essentially, it boils down to time and processing what happened -- but now she's ready to speak.
She writes, in part ... "I took a lot of heat for not saying something about Fu right away. It's bc idk ... I was really trying to stay alive for days, and I'm still processing fully what happened." Kate also says she didn't want to shout him out specifically -- seeing how 3 people died ... but notes, he was, in fact, special to her.
KQ also has this to say on the question of the drugs being used that night ... "I can't comment on who supplied what. The truth is it doesn't really matter. If you do any illegal drugs, you're basically signing a contract that says, 'I accept that I might die sooner than I would like.' We all know that. I'm not posting to talk about details of what occurred."
Kate finishes by recapping what she'll remember about Fuquan -- namely, that he was as honest and unflinchingly himself ... just like her.
She writes, "I think about him every day, and I'm heartbroken he's gone. But I know without a shadow of a doubt that he has been watching over me every time I get down. I feel him." Kate adds, "And I know he would support me however I had to deal with this, just as I would if only he had survived."
TMZ broke the story ... Kate was the only survivor from the overdose incident, and has since been released from the hospital. She's been spotted out in Venice, carrying on with her life.