A coroner presented his report to the Teesside Coroner’s Court confirming that Richard Davies, 29, died from the alcohol in his system.
Davies blood alcohol content was five-and-a-half times the legal drink-drive limit.
Christopher Crooks, Davies’ best friend, said in a statement: ‘Richard drank a pint of vodka in four seconds or so.’
He continued, ‘I did try to take the glass off him, but he turned back on me, pushed me away, and drank it all.’
The alcohol knocked him unconscious sometime afterwards and Davies was found not breathing in a pool of his own blood. By the time paramedics arrived he was dead.
Pathologist Jan Lowe said his alcohol level was high enough to have caused acute alcohol poisoning.
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Acute effects of alcohol poisoning come from alcohol’s nature as a depressant. As drinking increases, people become sleepy or fall into a stupor. Eventually, the respiratory system becomes depressed and the person can stop breathing.
Signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning:
x Confusion
x Vomiting
x Dangerous anger
x Seizures
x Slow breathing (less than eight breaths a minute)
x Pale, bluish skin
x cold and clammy skin
Treatment for poisoning usually involves stabilizing the patient until the alcohol is metabolized. A normal liver detoxifies the blood over a time that depends on how much alcohol is in the system and the physical condition of the patient.
The average liver metabolizes at the rate of about one ounce (one beer, glass of wine, or one mixed drink) every 90 minutes.
