‘Very Hot’ Fishcake Kills Wedding Planner By Burning His Throat

A wedding planner, Darren Hickey, died after eating a “very hot” fishcake at a wedding venue on April 4., Thursday, Bolton Coroners' Court heard. The recent inquest into the man’s death proved that he choked on the fishcake given by a chef at lunchtime before he was leaving for a charity meeting.

The incident took place when he was leaving Ridgmont House, the wedding venue he managed in Chorley, Lancashire, England.

51-year-old Hickey, who was described by his partner, Neil Parkinson, as a “larger-than-life character," allegedly sampled the fishcake which burned his throat. His voice box had swollen as a result thereby making it impossible for him to breathe or swallow, Fox News reported.

Hickey sought medical attention at the Urgent Care Ward at Chorley Hospital where the medical professionals apparently asked him to return home after giving paracetamol. He was told to revisit if the pain worsened. Hickey then went back home to take rest.

Parkinson, 55, claimed that he rushed upstairs that evening after hearing some noises Hickey was making. He reportedly found Hickey choking there. “He was stood up choking and coughing so I banged his back but then he slid forward onto the floor,” Parkinson told SWNS.

Hickey was then rushed to Royal Bolton Hospital in an ambulance where he was pronounced dead.

According to Dr. Patrick Waugh, a pathologist who performed Hickey’s post-mortem, the burns spread far down in the man’s throat, so much so that it would require specialized equipment to see them. Waugh said the burns were similar to those seen in people who died during house fire by breathing smoke.

"The patient can appear well, they will be talking to you, but then the swelling starts,” Waugh said during the recently conducted inquest into Hickey’s death, as per SWNS.

Calling Hickey’s death an "immense tragedy," Acting Senior Coroner Alan Walsh said, “I believe there are enormous lessons to be learned, this was caused by eating a fish cake, very small and very hot but with catastrophic consequences."

7 years ago, Hickey had a stroke and had difficulty walking and talking but strangely it didn’t kill him but a hot fishcake did.