Were Energy Drinks a Factor in Student's Death?

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY A coroner's report has found a college freshman at Washington State University died Saturday from acute alcohol poisoning. But a family member contends energy drinks played a role in his death.

Lea Ann Easton, a Portland attorney, said during a news conference that her nephew Kenny Hummel "would have puked and passed out" rather than continue to consume alcohol without the boost of energy from a caffeinated energy drink, The Seattle Times reported Wednesday.  She reportedly claimed a number of containers of the drink played a role in his death.

Peter Martin, the Whitman County coroner, said Hummel's blood-alcohol level exceeded 0.4 percent and that alcohol alone was responsible for his death. The energy drink cited by the newspaper: 5-Hour Energy.

"It's a provocative argument that energy drinks keep you awake so you can continue to keep drinking," Martin said in The Seattle Times story. "But from our standpoint, the sole cause of death was the alcohol."

Martin said a person would have to drink about a fifth of hard liquor to have a blood alcohol level found in Hummel's system, The Associated Press reported.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reports that each year unintentional injuries related to alcohol cause the deaths of 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24. About half of college students who drink do so excessively, posing health and safety risks, according to NIAAA.