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The death of a University of Otago student at a flat party, is a “woeful illustration of the prevalent youth drinking culture”, a coroner says.
The first-year student was 20 when he died on October 1, 2023.
Coroner Emma van Son made suppression orders at the request of the family, meaning the student cannot be named.
In her findings, released on Monday, she said the man became unresponsive after drinking alcohol at a flat party.
While he was unconscious, his airways became blocked with vomit, causing him to choke and die, she found.
“[The student’s] death was the tragic consequence of excessive alcohol consumption by a young person,” the coroner said.
“His death was senseless and is a woeful illustration of the prevalent youth drinking culture in New Zealand.
“Sadly, [his] death is not an isolated incident.”
She made several comments aiming to educate the public about the risks of binge drinking and aiming to reduce the chance of similar deaths occurring.
University of Otago student Sophia Crestani died at an overcrowded flat party in Dunedin in October 2019.
Since then, her parents Bede Crestani and Elspeth McMillan have worked to reduce further alcohol-related harm in Dunedin, including through The Sophia Charter — a multi-agency community commitment aimed at enhancing student safety and wellbeing in North Dunedin.
Ms McMillan said it was “distressing” to hear of another young person dying at a party.
“That whole binge drinking and risky behaviour … there is improvement — but sadly, it’s still happening,” she said.
“It is a cultural issue, unfortunately, for us in New Zealand.
“I think we glorify alcohol.”
On September 30, 2023, the student and some friends attended a party at a flat in North East Valley, the coroner’s findings said.
Witnesses recalled he arrived about 6.40pm and consumed an unknown amount of alcohol before he was found passed out and “pretty much unresponsive” in the kitchen.
He was vomiting. Party-goers decided to carry him to a bed in the flat.
There, he continued vomiting.
One person looked for and found a pulse in his throat, but it is unclear whether anyone stayed with him after that, the coroner said.
A witness described “a big group of people” clearing vomit from his throat before he became pulseless and blue in the face.
Emergency services were contacted about 11.25pm and partygoers began performing CPR on him.
Paramedics continued resuscitation efforts when they arrived, but they were unsuccessful and the student was pronounced dead at the scene just after midnight on October 1.
The coroner did not have any evidence about the type or amount of alcohol consumed by the student, but witnesses said it was unusual for him to “get that drunk”.
Coroner van Son concluded it was obvious he consumed “a very significant quantity of alcohol preceding his death”.
Ms McMillan said while it was great the party-goers tried to help the student, it was disappointing there was not more proactive support and education.
“Who was there discouraging him from drinking when he was drinking excessively and getting himself in that sort of a state? No one,” she said.
“The help came too late, really, didn’t it? It’s a sad thing.”
She said binge drinking culture among students in Dunedin was “a whole systemic social issue”.
“It’s historical, cultural norms for students down in Dunedin — that sadly tends to concentrate that behaviour.”
“I just don’t know how we change that mentality.
“All we can hope for is that, in time, having to comment on these situations isn’t required because people aren’t dying from alcohol and bad situations down in the Dunedin student scene.”
A toxicology report found the student’s blood contained 319mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood — more than six times the legal driving limit.
The pathologist noted the student was unconscious and would have had a blunted cough and gag reflex, allowing vomit to enter his airway rather than be expelled or swallowed normally.
A University of Otago spokeswoman said the university’s thoughts were with the student’s family and friends.
The university welcomed and endorsed the coroner’s comments on excessive drinking.
“The safety and wellbeing of our students remain our top priorities and we will continue to communicate regularly with students about responsible consumption of alcohol,” the spokeswoman said.
“As well as proactive communications, the university has a range of services available dedicated to supporting students’ safety, health and wellbeing, including clinicians with specialist drug and alcohol harm expertise.”
She did not answer a question about whether the incident was indicative of a culture of binge drinking among students.
The coroner’s advice
The coroner hoped greater public awareness of risks associated with binge drinking would reduce the chance of similar deaths occurring. The comments she made were:
— At very high levels alcohol can cause someone to become unconscious, causing them to have less control of their breathing and increasing the risk of their airway becoming blocked, particularly if they vomit.
— While your first instinct may be to let a friend who has passed out “sleep it off”, it is important to know that things can go from bad to worse quickly when someone drinks enough to lose consciousness.
— If someone becomes unconscious because of alcohol consumption, an ambulance should be called.
— If you see someone with alcohol poisoning you should make sure they are not left alone, try to keep them awake, upright and warm and call an ambulance.
— If they are breathing but not responding place them in the recovery position and keep their mouth free of vomit.
— Knowing the signs of acute alcohol intoxication might save someone’s life. Visible symptoms include: confusion, vomiting, seizures, blue-looking or pale skin, passing out and being unable to be woken, slow or irregular breathing.