Cover image via Buzzfeed News / Brewed Awakenings
A teenager in the US collapsed in school and died after drinking three highly-caffeinated drinks too quickly, according to the coroner's report
According to [CBS News](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/davis-cripe-teen-dies-from-caffeine-overdose-coroner-says/), Davis Allen Cripe from South Caroline died in a hospital on 26 April after collapsing in his high school.
**Prior to his collapse, he consumed a large soft drink, a latte, and an energy drink in two hours.**
The Richland County Coroner ruled that Davis died from a "caffeine-induced cardiac event causing a probable arrhythmia"
Image via CTV News
"**Davis, on this particular day within the two hours prior to his death, had consumed a large soft drink, a latte from McDonald's, and also some type of energy drink.**
It was so much caffeine at the time of his death that it caused **arrhythmia, a condition marked by an irregular heartbeat,**" coroner Gary Watts said as quoted by [Buzzfeed News](https://www.buzzfeed.com/tasneemnashrulla/a-teenager-died-of-a-caffeine-overdose?utm_term=.ox4A4Mxqd#.giOZ8NR3K).
Davis had no pre-existing heart condition and was not obese
Image via BBC
Watts said that Davis had regularly drunk caffeinated drinks but in this case, **the quantity – possibly close to 500mg of caffeine – and the fact that he had consumed it in a relatively short time had brought on a "cardiac event".**
Watts noted that this case should serve as a reminder to consume these beverages in moderation
He told [News4SA](http://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/healthy-teenager-dies-from-heart-attack-after-too-much-caffeine), "Now the purpose here today is not to slam lattes, it's not to slam energy drinks. But what we want to do today is make people understand that **these drinks and this amount of caffeine and how it's ingested can have dire consequences.** And that's what happened in this case."
Davis' father, Sean Cripe, said the tragic way his son lost his life could be someone else's lifesaver
"**Parents, please talk to your kids about the dangers of these energy drinks. It wasn't a car crash that took his life, it was an energy drink,**" he [pleaded](http://news.sky.com/story/healthy-teen-dies-after-drinking-too-much-caffeine-10879537).
Image via ABC
Caffeine is a stimulant that acts on the body's central nervous system, increasing alertness and reducing sleepiness
But it has other effects – it can raise heart rate and make you feel jittery and anxious. Your daily cuppa is perfectly fine but drinking too much in a short space of time is risky.
"**Moderation is key to monitoring your caffeine intake,**" a professor of medicine told [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/16/us-teenager-dies-after-succession-of-caffeine-drinks-in-two-hours).
Image via Civil Coffee
