I Speak of Dreams

Shelby's Rules -- Another Teen Alcohol Death

From 2003 to 2008 I posted often on teen deaths from alcohol poisoning, including a year-end roundup.

The subject didn't fade from importance -- but my available time diminished.

Shelby Lynn Allen, aged 17, died December 20 2008 of alcohol poisoning.  Her parents have started Shelby's Rules.

For [April 2, 2009] Thursday night's series finale of ER, producer John Wells based one storyline on the alcohol poisoning death of his 17-year-old niece Shelby Lynn Allen. "Having this inspired by Shelby's story is going to teach a lot of young people and parents the dangers," said her mother Debbie. "The reality is if you're 5'6" and 107 pounds and you go past 7 or 8 shots, you're in the death zone."

Underage Alcohol Deaths, 2008

In 2007, at least thirty-one young people  died of alcohol toxicity (alcohol poisoning, alcohol overdose).

"There's no place  that's actually keeping data on alcohol deaths"--Thomas Kunstman MD.

In an article called Magnitude of alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among U.S. college students ages 18–24: changes from 1998 to 2001, by Hingson R, Heeren T, Winter M, Wechsler H. in Annual Review of Public Health. 2005, 26:259-279, the authors used statistical methods:

Estimated number of nontraffic injury deaths of all youth that are alcohol related:
1998         2001 
  991         1151

Estimated number of nontraffic injury deaths of college students that are alcohol related:
1998         2001 
  327           368

Alcohol Overdose Deaths on Campus or Those Under Age
[decedent's name with link], [age], [DoD], [university] [BAC]

The following list is generated by news reports listing cause of death as alcohol related.  I am sure there are more.

1. Brian W. Threet, 20, St. Cloud State, January 5, 2008,  BAC unknown
2. Chaz Lightner, 17,John Marshall High School (W. VA), February 10, 2008, BAC 0.374
3. Jesse Drews , 21, March 24, (WI), March 24, 2008, BAC 0.38
4. John Gunter, 17, White County, Georgia, April 25, 2008, BAC unknown
5. William Kiel Bobbitt, 19, California University of Pennsylvania, May 1, 2008, BAC unknown
6. Andrew I. Anderson, 16, Manako MN,  May 30 2008, BAC unknown

In all cases, my deepest condolences to family and friends.

A young man in Minnesota:

After he watched an ambulance crew carry away a girl he knew earlier this year, he said, he wished he'd had another message dunned into him. If someone you know is breathing irregularly or passes out -- whether the reason appears to be too much drinking, or anything else -- call 911. Don't delay. Don't worry about getting him or her -- or yourself -- into trouble. Don't assume that "sleeping it off" is all that the situation requires.

Middlebury College to Host National GORDIEday Anti-Hazing Events - MarketWatch

Link: Middlebury College to Host National GORDIEday Anti-Hazing Events - MarketWatch.

Middlebury College will host two days of anti-hazing campus events, FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, on October 22 and 23, 2008, in conjunction with National GORDIEday and National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week. Presented by The Gordie Foundation, this year's inaugural National GORDIEday will help raise awareness about the dangers of binge drinking and hazing and commemorate the lives of more than 1,700 students who die each year as a result of alcohol-related incidents.

On Wednesday, October 22, at 7:30 p.m. in Dana Auditorium, Middlebury College will host "Hazing: The Fallout," a talk by Travis Apgar, hazing victim and associate dean of students at Cornell University. Apgar travels the country sharing his personal experience with hazing and is active in the movement for change on college campuses. On Thursday, October 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Dana Auditorium, Middlebury will host a free public screening of the documentary film, "HAZE." The film examines the issues surrounding the college drinking culture in America, including the death of college freshman Gordie Bailey who died of alcohol poisoning following a fraternity initiation ceremony at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2004. "HAZE" is presented by The Gordie Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing young people with the skills to navigate the dangers of alcohol, binge drinking, peer pressure and hazing. Produced by Watt Imagination! and Leslie and Michael Lanahan, parents of Gordie Bailey and founders of The Gordie Foundation, "HAZE" includes a special introduction by Robin Wright Penn, actress and national spokesperson for The Gordie Foundation. During the two days of events at Middlebury College, The Gordie Foundation will work with staff and students to register new members for the Middlebury College Circle of Trust Chapter. The Circle of Trust is a peer-to-peer advocacy program created by the foundation to educate about alcohol and hazing, spread Gordie's story, and help promote healthy norms on campus. There are currently more than 100 Circle of Trust chapters across the country. Middlebury College was selected by The Gordie Foundation as an official participant in National GORDIEday. Thousands of students on college and university campuses will participate in National GORDIEday on October 22 to spread awareness of the dangers of alcohol misuse, binge drinking, peer pressure, and hazing. For more information on the National GORDIEday free public programs at Middlebury College, please contact Jyoti Daniere, at 802-443-5580 or visit the Web site at www.middlebury.edu. For more information on The Gordie Foundation, please call 214-823-0235 or visit the Web site at www.gordie.org.

Julia Gonzalez, 16, Alcohol Poisoning

Julia Gonzalez was found dead in a Turlock (CA) park the morning of December 28, 2008.  Her friends denied seeing her drink, but the autopsy revealed a blood-alcohol level incompatible with life.

As always, my condolences to her family and friends.

Andrew I. Anderson, 16, Alcohol-Related Death

May 30, 2008 , Mr. Anderson went out for a night of drinking on with a group of friends, including his two older brothers.  Mr. Anderson fell off a log, and was later found unresponsive.

As always, my condolences to his family and friends.

Underage Alcohol Deaths 2004
Underage Alcohol Deaths 2005
Underage Alcohol Deaths 2006
Underage Alcohol Deaths 2007

William Kiel Bobbitt, 19, Alcohol Poisoning

Mr. Bobbitt, a sophomore at California University of Pennsylvania, was found unresponsive in a friend's apartment on May 1, 2008.

As always, my condolences to his family and friends.

Underage Alcohol Deaths 2004
Underage Alcohol Deaths 2005
Underage Alcohol Deaths 2006
Underage Alcohol Deaths 2007

John Gunter, 17, Alcohol Poisoning

On April 25, 2008, Mr. Gunter and a friend, Billy Moon, told their parents that they were going to an ice-skating rink.  Instead, they went to a home in White County, Georgia. 

Police were summoned to the home early on April 26.  Mr. Gunter was transported to the hospital, while Mr. Moon was released to his parents. At the hospital, Mr. Gunter was put into a medically-induced coma.  He died of the consequences of alcohol poisoning on Thursday, May 1, 2008.

An adult, William Maxton Midgett, 22, has been charged with providing alcohol to minors.  My deep condolences to Mr. Gunter's family and friends.

In 2007, at least thirty-one young people  died of alcohol toxicity (alcohol poisoning, alcohol overdose).

"There's no place  that's actually keeping data on alcohol deaths"--Thomas Kunstman MD.

In an article called Magnitude of alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among U.S. college students ages 18–24: changes from 1998 to 2001, by Hingson R, Heeren T, Winter M, Wechsler H. in Annual Review of Public Health. 2005, 26:259-279, the authors used statistical methods:

Estimated number of nontraffic injury deaths of all youth that are alcohol related:
1998         2001 
  991         1151

Estimated number of nontraffic injury deaths of college students that are alcohol related:
1998         2001 
  327           368

Kassi Leatherman, 19, Saved from Death by Alcohol Poisoning. But Wait--Her Mother Bought The Booze

Kassie's mother,        Karen Simpson Leatherman, is accused of supplying her daughter's party with 40 six-backs of beer and 5 "bottles of vodka". 

Ms. Leatherman was found in front of her parent's home, near death from alcohol poisoning.  Fortunately, she survived.  There were over forty other underaged teens at the party.

       Karen Simpson Leatherman, 47, was charged with 15 counts of providing        alcohol to minors.

Jesse Drews, 21, Alcohol Poisoning

Jesse Drews turned 21 on March 24.  Starting just after midnight, he celebrated at a bar in Waupun, Wisconsin, evidently engaging in "power hour" or "21 for 21".   Several hours later, he was found unresponsive on a couch in his home.

His mother, quoted in the New York Times:

“I never in a million years thought we would be in this situation,'’ Mrs. Drews said. “Kids have to know about this risk. I hope anybody who goes into a bar and sees this happening will say something.'’

My deepest condolences to Mr. Drews' family and friends.

 

Chaz Lightner, 17, Alcohol Poisoning

On February 10, 2008, a number of people under twenty-one gathered at the home owned by  Archie and Sabrina Stevey, in Moundsville, Marshall County, West Virginia.  Mr. and Mrs. Stevey were not at home at the beginning of the party.

Sometime during the event, Mr. Lightener consumed a considerable amount of hard liquor 'through a “beer bong” funnel'.

The senior Steveys returned home while the teen  party was still underway, and were evidently aware that the teens were consuming alcohol.  However, they took no action to inform the teens' parents, or restrict the teens' access to alcohol, but instead  "then went to bed, while knowing the children in the home, including Lightner, were drinking."

It appears that Lightener died during the night.  It is alleged that Mr. Stevey, upon "discovering Lightner’s body early the next morning, ordered the children involved to clean up all evidence of alcohol in the home, which they did before he called the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department."

My condolences to Mr. Lightner's  family and friends.