Crime & Safety
Gurnee Teen Found By Roommate In College Dorm Died Of Alcohol Toxicity: Coroner
Positional asphyxia also may have played a part in Erica Buschick's death. She was found by her roommate lying face-down in their dorm.
The alcohol-related death of an 18-year-old college student from Gurnee who was found lying unresponsive and face-down in her dorm room last month at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, has been ruled an accident.
The coroner in Butler County, Ohio, has determined the Jan. 20 death of Erica Buschick was due to “acute ethanol intoxication,” according to WLWT5. The Miami University freshman had a blood alcohol content of .347 — more than four times the legal limit — and her blood also tested positive for marijuana and an antidepressant, the Hamilton Journal-News reports.
Dr. James Swinehart, the pathologist who performed the autopsy, told the Hamilton Journal-News “positional asphyxia” may have played a part in Buschick’s death.
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She was lying face-down with her head and face in a soft pillow.
“There was a history of binge drinking and a fall on the sidewalk prior to being placed in her dorm room,” he told the newspaper.
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Buschick’s roommate, first-year student Reilley Graves, found Buschick the next morning and called authorities, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Buschick and her roommate had spent the night before partying, starting that Thursday night by drinking two bottles of champagne together in their dorm room before “pregaming” with some friends at an apartment near campus, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The duo drank several shots of vodka throughout the night, and at one point, Buschick was denied access to a local bar because she was too intoxicated, according to the newspaper. A taxi driver brought the women back to their dorm room and told police Buschick fell face-first when she got out of the cab. The driver then helped Buschick up to her room and into a bean bag chair.
Buschick graduated from Warren Township High School and was a member of the National Honor Society, according to the Daily Herald. She was pursuing a degree in special education.
More via the Cincinnati Enquirer
Photo via the Remembering Erica Buschick Facebook page
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