Despite warnings, tragedies and horror stories, alcohol abuse continues on college campuses across the country. Many young people dismiss drinking as a harmless rite of passage, but one Arizona State University student almost didn't recover from a night of drinking.
The story is notable not just because a 20-year-old drank to excess, passing out and endangering his health and life, but also because the student, a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, was left unconscious in a wheelchair at a local hospital with a Post-It note stuck to his body.
Local Tempe, Arizona police confirm that the student in question was dropped at the hospital with a note stuck to him that listed a friend’s name and phone number. The note also explained that the student took part in a drinking competition, accounting for his condition.
Emergency room staff noticed the abandoned young man and immediately began treating him. The binge drinker was already turning blue and having difficulty breathing according to police. ER staff were able to save his life despite a 0.47 percent blood-alcohol content (a driver in Arizona is considered intoxicated at 0.08 percent).
The student’s symptoms were the result of alcohol overconsumption and asphyxiation on his own vomit, after he and a group of friends began celebrating the completion of the semester earlier that afternoon. The student was challenged to a shot-drinking contest, and between 2 and 4pm he drank approximately 20 shots of tequila. At some point his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he passed out and started vomiting. Some friends thought he could sleep it off, while others believed he needed to be taken to a hospital. They transported the sick student to another friend’s for a second opinion and it was then determined that he did need medical care. He was taken to Tempe St. Luke’s, put in a wheelchair with a note, and left. One of the “friends” who left the compromised student at the ER told police later that he didn't stay at the hospital because “he had to go out to eat.”
Authorities say the student at the hospital may be cited for minor in possession of alcohol or minor in consumption of alcohol, and his friends may be cited for alcohol violations. While abandoning a sick friend at the ER may not be a crime police warn that the friends were lucky the story didn’t have a different outcome.
Alcohol abuse at any age and for any reason is a serious problem. If you worry about your or a loved one’s drinking, call for professional recovery resources. We can answer any questions you have about alcohol addiction treatment, financing or insurance.
