'Extremely tragic' – 30-year-old died after downing bottle of whisky in five seconds

A 30-YEAR-OLD Christchurch man died after downing a bottle of whisky in under five seconds, an inquest heard.

Sam Davis had told his stepfather, Stephen Lillington, that he had already drunk a bottle of the spirit on the morning of his death before consuming the second, fatal amount later that afternoon, Bournemouth Coroners’ Court was told.

He collapsed within minutes of drinking the Jack Daniels and later stopped breathing.

Sam, a refuse worker from Draper Road, was rushed to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital where doctors battled to resuscitate him.

A post-mortem examination revealed his alcohol level was seven times the drink-driving limit and nearly twice the fatal level for alcohol poisoning.

Senior coroner Rachael Griffin told the inquest that she had “never seen a level as high as Mr Davis had in his system at the time of death”.

She hoped that his “extremely tragic” death would serve as a “warning to others of the significant and catastrophic effect alcohol consumption can have on a person”.

In a statement, Sam’s friend of 20 years Kieron Pardy told how Sam arrived at his home in Charminster during a day off on 29th November last year. He “did not appear drunk” and the two had a couple of beers, he said.

Sam, whom Mr Pardy said had “always been a binge drinker”, then went to the shops and came back with two bottles of Jack Daniels.

Mr Pardy recalled that before he could say anything, his friend “raised one of the bottles, put the whole neck in his mouth and poured the whole 70cls down his throat”.

He added: “It was gone in less than five seconds.”

A worried Mr Pardy told his friend he would have to leave and Mr Lillington came back to collect him.

By then, Mr Pardy said, Sam “could not walk” and the two men managed to get him to Mr Lillington’s car where he fell into the rear footwell.

His stepfather drove him home where another friend tried to help Mr Lillington get Sam out, but they failed.

In a statement, Mr Lillington said he rang the emergency services after he went to the car five minutes later to find his stepson had stopped breathing.

When paramedics arrived, they called for assistance and seven ambulance staff battled to get Sam out of the vehicle for an hour.

He was rushed to hospital where he was found to be in cardiac arrest. Doctors strived to save him, but he died.

In his statement Mr Lillington said he had known Sam since he was 12. He said Sam had started drinking heavily for a year after his mother died in 2016 saying her death had “hit him hard”.

But he said that Sam had not been “dependent” on alcohol, adding instead that “either he did not drink or drank himself incapable”.

When he earlier collected his stepson to take him to Mr Pardy’s home around 4pm on the day of his death, he said Sam did not seem drunk despite what he had told him earlier.

He added: “He seemed fine,” but that at around 5.45pm he received a call from Mr Pardy saying that Sam had drunk a bottle of Jack Daniels in “one go”.

The post-mortem examination later recorded the cause of his death as alcohol intoxication.

Coroner Ms Griffin said that Sam was not “known to be dependent on alcohol but when in drink would drink to considerable excess”.

She added that it was “very clear” the alcohol he had drunk on the day of his death had an “immediate effect upon him”.

Concluding his death was alcohol-related, she said that there was no evidence to suggest he had intended to take his own life.

On a fundraising page set up after his death, a friend called Sam “one of the most caring men I ever met” adding that he had “made a massive impact on so many people”.

*A previous version of the story said Sam's alcohol level was 12 times the drink-drive limit. We apologise for the error.