Samantha Spady: Another College Alcohol Overdose Death

Samantha Spady, who by all accounts was a lovely young woman, drank heavily throughout the day on September 5th, and died early in the morning of the 6th.

Late August, 2004: Samantha Spady left her hometown of Beatrice, Nebraska to head back to college at Fort Collins, Colorado.  Spady had had a successful high school career: cheerleading captain, senior class president and homecoming queen;  National Honor Roll, Spady also assisted with Red Cross Bloodmobiles and food pantry drives.

Thursday, September 3, 2004:  Samantha Spady planned a weekend of heavy drinking.   "I'm also going to get extremely wasted this weekend," she wrote at 7:04 p.m. Sept. 3, "not just because it's Labor Day, but because Colorado State plays Colorado in football tomorrow."

Saturday, September 5, 2004: Samantha Spady watched the CSU-CU game on television at a friend's house.  After leaving the friend's house, she lost control of her car.  She did not telephone the police, but called a friend, who picked her up. The friend's identity has not been made public, but has spoken to police, who report that Spady wasn't obviously intoxicated at the time of the accident.  The friend and  Spady went to at least two other houses.  Spady consumed alcohol at these houses before drank before she ending  up at the Sigma Pi fraternity house.   Police Detective Kristy Volesky said Spady began drinking at 6 p.m. on Sept. 5 and didn't stop until about 5 a.m. Sept. 6.  At some point in the evening, Spady switched from beer to straight shots of vodka. 

The day Spady died was not the first time she drank heavily.   And she was only one of many, many CSU students who do. In a website (a blog?), Spady was often pictured with booze and wrote about her frequent "partying".

Sunday, September 6, 2004:  Samantha Spady died early in the morning of the 6th.  Results show her blood-alcohol level was 0.436 percent at the time of her death--it may have been higher in the hours before she died.   A person is at risk of dying from alcohol poisoning at a 0.40 percent BAC.  The first report of her death at a Colorado State University fraternity (Sigma Pi) in Fort Collins, Colorado.  The young woman's body was not discovered until Sunday evening, by a fraternity member giving his mother a tour of the house. 

Monday September 7, 2004: The woman who died in Fort Colllins was a standout at her high school:  homecoming queen, senior class president and captain of the cheerleading squad.  She also died of an alcohol overdose

Tuesday September 9, 2004: Although Samantha Sapde died at a fraternity, her death was not part of hazing or initiation.  Heavy drinking is, however, a common fraternity initiation rite.   These problems have been so prevalent that one fraternity teaches its lodges how to manage the risk of such high-risk behavior.

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

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

Signs of Alcohol Poisoning

Alcohol depresses nerves that control involuntary actions such as breathing, the heartbeat and the gag reflex that prevents choking. A fatal dose of alcohol will eventually stop these functions. After the victim stops drinking, the heart keeps beating, and the alcohol in the stomach continues to enter the bloodstream and circulate through the system. The victim may experience the following:

• Mental confusion, stupor, coma, unable to rouse the person
• No response to pinching the skin
• Vomiting while sleeping or unresponsive
• Seizures
• Slowed breathing  (fewer than 8 breaths per minute)
• Irregular breathing (10 seconds or more between breaths)
• Hypothermia (low body temperature), bluish skin color, paleness

Alcohol Poisoning Requires Immediate Medical Attention

Alcohol Poisoning Cannot Be Reversed By:

• Drinking black coffee
• Taking a cold bath or shower
• Walking it off

The victim must have immediate medical attention.
Call 911, stay with the victim to prevent him choking on vomit, and tell emergency personnel how much alcohol the victim drank.

These Children Died of Alcohol Overdose, So Their Parents Started Foundations:

Taylor Webster's memorial foundation.  Taylor died of alcohol  poisoning at age 19-- Now his family and friends are working  to get the message out, telling their stories and providing  information on alcohol poisoning and the signs and symtoms  of alcohol poisoning in hopes that lives will be saved.

Bradley McCue's memorial foundation.  On November 5, 1998  Bradley turned 21. . He celebrated  his birthday in a way that has become increasingly popular, drinking "his  age in shots". That amount of alcohol was lethal and he died  that night of alcohol poisoning.

Samantha Spady's memorial foundation. A 19-year old student at Colorado State University, Spady died of alcohol poisoning on September 5, 2004, "an unintentional tragedy."  The Spadys say the SAM [Student Alcohol Management] Spady Foundation will develop peer-to-peer counseling and other services meant to reduce the risk of alcohol abuse.

Gordie Bailey's memorial foundation Mission: to provide today’s youth with the skills to navigate the dangers of alcohol, and through education and promotion of self worth prevent alcohol poisoning, binge drinking and hazing. 

Kimberly Ostien's memorial foundation: "With binge drinking on the rise, we feel it necessary to get the message out on the danger of alcohol, especially excessive alcohol consumed in a short period of time.  Students are educated on drugs and alcohol but they will continue to experiment no matter what.  We want to educate on what to do when a friend falls down or passes out from drinking.  Often we want to put that person to bed to sleep it off and that is when the trouble can begin."  The card lists the information, above.

Comments

[rachel]

why did you put that picture on

[carolyn]

i was truly touched by what i have read and my professor showed us samantha's video. I also use these materials as a persuasive speech of choice in my speech class. I think the picture with the girl vomitting is a really good picture because there is nothing cute about alcohol consumption.