Beach Party Goes Bad: A 14-year-old girl on ventilator after drinking

By Alex McNear

After a night of partying on the ocean beach in East Hampton on June 14, a 14-year-old girl was so debilitated from drinking alcohol that she was rushed to Southampton Hospital, where she was kept on a ventilator for nearly two days.

"She couldn't breathe unassisted," said East Hampton Village Police Chief Gerard Larsen. Darin Wiggins, M.D., chair of the emergency department at Southampton Hospital, explained that respiratory depression, which is what the young woman was suffering from, is not far from an alcohol-induced coma.

Although alcohol poisoning is rare in adults, teenagers can die from it. Physiologically a 14-year-old absorbs alcohol the same way a child does. "Children are not like little adults. They don't have the kind of sugar storage that adults do. An excessive amount of alcohol for a person under 17 can cause blood sugar to drop to such a low level that the brain can't get the food it needs," said Dr. Wiggins. This is what causes respiratory depression and can then lead to an alcohol-induced coma.

Seven freshmen from East Hampton High took taxis to Georgica Beach or had their parents drop them off between 9:30 and 11:30 that Saturday night for an end-of-school party. No adults were present.

According to Chief Larsen, several boys brought alcohol, which one of them had bought at a local store. As the evening wore on the girl became so intoxicated that she was almost unconscious.

Fearing they would get in trouble with their parents or the police, Chief Larsen said, all but two classmates left her behind on the beach. When the girl's mother arrived to pick her up at 11:30 p.m., she immediately called police.

Leon Parks, assistant principal at East Hampton High School, said that parents need to be aware of where their children are at any given time. Mr. Parks and village police are writing a letter to parents of freshmen about the unsupervised parties and drinking.

Barbara Boylan, a social worker at East Hampton High School, suggested that parents talk to their teens on a day-to-day basis. "Talking about drinking alcohol can be woven into daily communication," she said. "Lecturing never helps." She added that teenagers observe their parents' behavior. "Parents need to be role models."

Chief Larsen urged parents to be aware of any unsupervised parties and to notify the police. "We patrol the beaches at night looking for large numbers of parked cars. Usually this indicates a gathering or party," he said. "But, if teenagers take taxis to the beach, we don't always know there is a party in progress."

One of the boys, a 15-year-old said to have supplied the alcohol, whose name has been withheld because he is under 16, was charged by village police on June 18 with unlawfully dealing with a child in the first degree, a misdemeanor. Chief Larsen said they were still investigating where he got the alcohol. Chief Larsen said he expected at least two more arrests.

Village police will patrol the beaches on a nightly basis this summer and break up all gatherings where alcohol is being consumed.

The freshman, who has recovered from respiratory depression, was released from Southampton Hospital two days after being admitted.