16-year-old Davis Allen Cripe, has died after he drank a latte from McDonald’s, a large Mountain Dew soda, and a highly caffeinated energy drink within the space of two hours.
He collapsed in his high school classroom soon after consuming the liquid drinks. Now his family wants you and your children to beware the risks of this common item most kids enjoy on a regular basis.
Davis was not much different than other teens. He enjoyed soft drinks and indulged on occasion. On April 26, Davis drank a McDonald’s latte at 12:30pm. After he finished the coffee drink, he slammed back a Diet Mountain Dew.
With the soda finished, Davis prepared to go back to school after his lunch break. But before he hit his studies, he consumed an energy drink. Not long after, he collapsed at his desk in class at 2:28 pm.
The teacher immediately dialed 911 and the paramedics arrived at the scene. Davis was rushed to the Palmetto Health Baptist Parkridge Hospital. But they could do nothing to stop the caffeine killing this teen. He was pronounced dead at 3:40 pm.
Drugs and alcohol had not killed this teen. In fact, he spoke out against substance abuse as part of his church group. Instead, “totally legal” caffeine was his undoing. And he had no idea that he was consuming deadly levels of the common substance.
If you thought caffeine is harmless, you are wrong. It can be deadly when consumed in high dosages. Unfortunately, Davis had to become the poster child of the caffeine epidemic before America started paying attention to how much of the stimulant they’re consuming every day.
Richland County Coroner Gary Watts explained the official cause of death was a “caffeine-induced cardiac event causing a probable arrhythmia.”
Watts didn’t call it a caffeine overdose, but something that happened to his body because he drank so much caffeine.
You don’t need to have an underlying health condition to suffer from the negative effects of caffeine. Combining numerous caffeinated beverages in a short time frame increases your risk of having health problems.
According to The Slate, Watts stated, “Davis, like so many other kids and so many other people out there today, was doing something (he) thought was totally harmless, and that was ingesting lots of caffeine. We lost Davis from a totally legal substance.”
Davis’s father, Sean Cripe, is now urging other parents to warn their children about the dangers of excessive caffeine consumption. Although Davis’s caffeine-induced death is rare, it can clearly happen. Hopefully, Sean Cripe’s warning can reach other parents whose children consume energy drinks, coffee, tea and soda. Even chocolate has caffeine in it.
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My grandmother drank about 8 – 12 small cups (4 oz or less) of coffee each day. She never drank concentrated levels of caffeine. Her physicians told her beginning around the age of 65 to stop drinking coffee, that it was harmful to her heart. She continued to drink the coffee while her physicians passed. By the time she reached 90 she had outlived and was very healthy 5 of her doctors. My grandmother passed at age 98 in my arms.
Coffee is not the problem, it is concentrated amounts of caffeine.
My condolences to the Cripe family. My thoughts and prayers are with them. When I cut out caffeine in my 20s, my health improved 200%. Caffeine impairs my immune system and causes palpitations even though I don’t have heart disease. Even decaffeinated coffee is a problem for me & keeps me awake all night. Everyone reacts differently.