Sydney girl, 15, dies with lethal blood alcohol level after researching drinks
A teenage girl has died in a Sydney hospital with a lethal amount of alcohol in her system after researching alcoholic drink recipes online.
The 15-year-old had been drinking alone before she was found unconscious at a semi-rural property in Kenthurst, in Sydney’s northwest, on Friday night.
She died on Monday after nearly three days in hospital.
Early investigations show the girl had consumed large amounts of alcohol and some other items, which “led directly or indirectly to her death,” Supt Rob Critchlow told reporters on Tuesday.
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Energy drinks were also found at the home, police said.
The girl was found in a “terrible state” and then transferred to the children’s hospital at Westmead.
“This young girl who was healthy and full of beans has taken such a tragic turn,” Critchlow said.
The hospital said her blood-alcohol reading was 0.4 – well into the lethal range for alcohol.
“She’s from a solid family, they’re obviously very distressed but they’re very keen for this message of safety and responsibility about consumption of alcohol to go out.”
While a post-mortem examination is due later this week, police are investigating the use of online material which may have influenced the excessive amount of alcohol consumed.
“If it was the case these videos and online platforms contributed to her decision to take the amount of alcohol which she did, which has then led to her death, we’ll definitely look at any options available to us legally,” Critchlow said.
Geoff Munro from the Alcohol and Drug Foundation says many people, especially teenagers, don’t realise how lethal alcohol can be.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re mixing up your own or just drinking it out of a bottle, if you’re drinking a large amount, it can kill you,” Munro said.
He says Australia needs to change its drinking habits and claims the alcohol industry has too much freedom promoting drinks to young people.
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