So Sad! Student Dies After Being Burned By Flaming Drink

[southerngale]

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- An aspiring musician died hours after suffering burns from a flaming cocktail, the authorities said.

Kyle Kristopher Guyer, 23, had been celebrating his pending graduation from the University of Oregon. Guyer was in the Sacred Heart Medical Center early Sunday after he was served a drink that involved dropping a flaming shot of liquor into a glass of beer. The burning alcohol splashed onto his hands, causing second-degree burns, said Frank Ratti of the Lane County medical examiner's office.

Emergency room personnel gave Guyer an intravenous drip of the pain killer Dilaudid, Ratti said. Later that night, he was released with a prescription for another pain killer, Percocet.

Guyer's roommates told police he acted fine when he returned home. Around 4 a.m. Sunday, Guyer went to bed with no indication of a medical emergency, Ratti said.

Just before 8 a.m., Guyer's roommates entered his room and found him unresponsive. They called 911, but Guyer was pronounced dead when emergency personnel arrived.

Officers found no indication of foul play, police said.

An autopsy was planned for Tuesday, and it could be weeks before the medical examiner receives results from toxicology tests.

Ratti said it's fairly difficult for a young, healthy man to drink himself to death. His office sees about one case of death by acute alcohol intoxication each year. The autopsy will help reveal whether some other medical condition contributed to Guyer's death.

Upon learning of his death, about 50 friends gathered in Alton Baker Park for an impromptu memorial.

"Nobody ever met Kyle and didn't like him," said Guyer's roommate Dan Portrait, 25, who met the electronic media major 10 years ago in their hometown, Medford. Guyer was the drummer in the local band Easy Target.

"The kids loved him," Portrait said Monday. "He was just a big kid himself."

Guyer and Dan's brother, Jake Portrait, formed the band while in high school. The group moved to Eugene in 1999, released a recording in 2000 and were working on a full-length album at a recording studio in Portland.

After graduation, Guyer planned to join two of his band mates in Portland, where they were to share an apartment, Dan Portrait said.

"Today was supposed to be their first day in the new place," he said.

[therock1811]

Well, there ya go. This is why we see so many deaths from alcohol, ppl being stupid.

[weatherlover427]

If it ain't overdosing, it's setting it on fire...

[breeze]

Dang! We don't serve them kind of drinks in the Ladie's Bar! :o


I seriously wonder if this kid might of had anaphalactic shock from
Percocet? It is a form of codeine, which, alot of people have
allergic reactions to......???

[TexasStooge]

Well, his celebration didn't last long.