Can Caffeine Kill You? South Carolina Teen Dies From Drinking Caffeinated Drinks

16-year-old Davis Allen Cripe, from Chaplin, South Carolina, recently died of consuming too many caffeinated drinks. The Richland County Coroner’s Office announced Monday Cripe died because of a caffeine-induced cardiac arrest.

Cripe had consumed three consecutive caffeine laced drinks – a café latte, a large Diet Mountain Dew and an energy drink – within the span of a couple of hours, which caused the teenager to collapse in the middle of his classroom in Spring Hill High School on April 26^th.

The excessive intake of caffeinated drinks had caused Cripe to undergo a medical condition known as arrhythmia, which results in abnormal heartbeat, lack of blood circulation and ultimate shut down of brain, heart and other vital organs of the body.

Read: Caffeine Prevents Dementia and Alzheimer's, New Study Suggests​

Davis had consumed the Café Latte at 12.30 p.m., followed almost immediately by the next two drinks. He collapsed at 2:30 p.m. and was pronounced dead at 3:40 p.m.

Sean Cripe, the father of Davis, warned all parents to keep a close eye on what their children are consuming after they step outside of their homes. In order to avoid going through the kind of ordeal he and his family had to endure, he advised parents of every high school student to warn their kids about the dangers of drinking too many of such drinks on a daily basis.

"Like all parents, we worry about our kids as they grow up. We worry about their safety, their health, especially once they start driving. But it wasn't a car crash that took his life. Instead, it was an energy drink," Sean said of his son's death, CNN reported.

According to a new research, about 90% of Americans follows the safety standards set in place regarding the amount of caffeine intake for a human body, which is 400 mg, Health reported. However, according to the publication’s medical editor, Roshini Raj, the effects of caffeine highly depends on the kind of drink being consumed.

For example, while plain coffee is rich in antioxidants which reduce the harmful effects of caffeine, creative coffee concoctions like a café latte or energy drinks, which have artificial sweeteners, elevated sugar content and other stimulants can pose health threats.

Dr. Raj also stated that different people may process caffeine differently. Hence, while even a small cup of coffee can make someone jittery, another person may not be affected at all by even a large cup of coffee. This was apparently the case with Davis.

“You can have five people line up and all of them do the exact same thing with him [Davis] that day, drink more, and it may not have any type of effect on them at all,” said Gary Watts, Richland County Coroner, News reported.

Watts also told children to be careful of what they drink and the amount they consume because events can turn from safe to life-threatening in a matter of a few hours, giving the victim no time to react or seek help.

Davis had no pre-existing heart conditions and had taken no other drugs or alcohol, stated the coroner’s report.