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Teen Dies After Drinking Three Different Caffeinated Drinks In Two Hours

The 16-year-old died from "caffeine-induced cardiac event."

Cover image via Buzzfeed News / Brewed Awakenings

A teenager in the US collapsed in school and died after drinking three highly-caffeinated drinks too quickly, according to the coroner's report

Davis Allen Cripe.

Image via ABC

According to CBS News, Davis Allen Cripe from South Caroline died in a hospital on 26 April after collapsing in his high school.

Prior to his collapse, he consumed a large soft drink, a latte, and an energy drink in two hours.

The Richland County Coroner ruled that Davis died from a "caffeine-induced cardiac event causing a probable arrhythmia"

Image via CTV News

"Davis, on this particular day within the two hours prior to his death, had consumed a large soft drink, a latte from McDonald's, and also some type of energy drink.

It was so much caffeine at the time of his death that it caused arrhythmia, a condition marked by an irregular heartbeat," coroner Gary Watts said as quoted by Buzzfeed News.

Davis had no pre-existing heart condition and was not obese

Image via BBC

Watts said that Davis had regularly drunk caffeinated drinks but in this case, the quantity - possibly close to 500mg of caffeine - and the fact that he had consumed it in a relatively short time had brought on a “cardiac event”.

Watts noted that this case should serve as a reminder to consume these beverages in moderation

He told News4SA, "Now the purpose here today is not to slam lattes, it's not to slam energy drinks. But what we want to do today is make people understand that these drinks and this amount of caffeine and how it's ingested can have dire consequences. And that's what happened in this case."

Davis' father, Sean Cripe, said the tragic way his son lost his life could be someone else's lifesaver

Image via ABC

"Parents, please talk to your kids about the dangers of these energy drinks. It wasn't a car crash that took his life, it was an energy drink," he pleaded.

Caffeine is a stimulant that acts on the body's central nervous system, increasing alertness and reducing sleepiness

Image via Civil Coffee

But it has other effects - it can raise heart rate and make you feel jittery and anxious. Your daily cuppa is perfectly fine but drinking too much in a short space of time is risky.

"Moderation is key to monitoring your caffeine intake," a professor of medicine told The Guardian.

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