Disturbing way teenage boy died after Christmas Day celebration with family took tragic turn

A teenager drank himself to death after shooting Vodka Cruisers, double-strength Jim Beams and other alcoholic drinks on Christmas Day, a court has heard.

The 16-year-old boy died of acute alcohol intoxication after consuming a number of Cruisers in Echuca, Victoria, on Christmas Day 2022.

About a dozen people were at the meeting and his cousins ​​heard the boy, known to the court as LG, tell others he had been “tactically vomiting” all day to maintain his alcohol consumption, the court was told.

Coronial findings into the death were released in Victoria’s Coroners Court on Wednesday after a lengthy inquest.

The boy’s relatives said they saw him “shooting,” “snorkeling” and “vortexing” with drinks throughout the day of December 25.

Either of these drinking methods can cause the person consuming the drinks to become intoxicated more quickly than would normally be the case.

The boy had arrived at the Christmas lunch with his own esky containing ten Cruisers and a ‘handful’ of UDL cans, but he also accepted drinks from others.

Heartbreakingly, he collapsed to his knees by 11 p.m., but despite his blatant drunkenness, no one at the party believed his condition was truly dire.

LG’s sister tried to convince him to drink water before going to sleep, but the next day at 8:30 am his uncle noticed gray vomit coming from his mouth and called triple-0.

The boy was rushed there the Royal Children’s Hospital, but was unable to recover from his condition and doctors confirmed him brain dead two days later on 28 December.

Coroner Catherine Fitzgerald said there was insufficient adult supervision at the event and ruled the boy’s death was avoidable.

She told the court that LG had ‘clearly’ been drinking beyond his means and that someone should have intervened to stop him Herald Sun reported.

“Allowing a minor to consume this amount of alcohol poses significant risks to their health and well-being, and this should not have happened,” she said.

‘There was completely inadequate supervision of LG’s alcohol consumption and the level of intoxication by both his parents and adult relatives.

“This allowed LG to consume a dangerous amount of alcohol throughout the day and evening.”

The coroner reminded those present that the consumption of alcohol by anyone under the age of 18 is illegal and that this fact should have been taken into consideration on the day itself.

She noted that no “adequate” attempt was made to stop the minor from drinking, even though his drunkenness increased throughout the day.

LG’s parents previously told the court that they would be allowed to let their son drink on ‘special occasions’ after he turned 16, but that his maximum drink limit would be a maximum of four per day.

They provided LG with the 10-pack of Cruisers and requested that he not take them all to the Christmas lunch, which they later admitted he ignored.