A spring break celebration among friends ended tragically when a UC Berkeley student apparently drank himself to death during a contest to see who could consume the most alcohol, authorities said Monday.
Steve Saucedo, 21, stumbled into bed early Friday morning after a night of hard drinking with friends in his Regent Street apartment; a friend discovered his lifeless body at about 9 a.m. Friday when he went to wake the junior from the Los Angeles County town of Whittier, according to the Alameda County Coroner's office.
Dan Apperson, a coroner's supervisor, said the exact cause of death will not be known until toxicology tests are completed, but police said it appeared Saucedo simply drank himself to death.
"There was basically a drinking contest between a small group of friends, " said Berkeley police officer and spokesman Kevin Schofield. "There's no signs of foul play."
Saucedo, a junior, transferred to UC Berkeley in the fall of 2003 from Pasadena City College, said Cal spokeswoman Janet Gilmore.
Saucedo's roommate, Robert Tinoco, 22, said Saucedo's cousin and four friends from Los Angeles arrived Thursday to spend the weekend. They decided to have a drinking contest Thursday night, and Saucedo served as the bartender, doling out shots of tequila, vodka and whiskey, Tinoco said.
"Steve was a competitive guy," Tinoco said. "Whenever he would hang out with friends, whether it was bowling or whatever, he wanted to win. This time it was a drinking challenge."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/03/30/BAGTC5TE2L1.DTL
Steve Saucedo, 21, stumbled into bed early Friday morning after a night of hard drinking with friends in his Regent Street apartment; a friend discovered his lifeless body at about 9 a.m. Friday when he went to wake the junior from the Los Angeles County town of Whittier, according to the Alameda County Coroner's office.
Dan Apperson, a coroner's supervisor, said the exact cause of death will not be known until toxicology tests are completed, but police said it appeared Saucedo simply drank himself to death.
"There was basically a drinking contest between a small group of friends, " said Berkeley police officer and spokesman Kevin Schofield. "There's no signs of foul play."
Saucedo, a junior, transferred to UC Berkeley in the fall of 2003 from Pasadena City College, said Cal spokeswoman Janet Gilmore.
Saucedo's roommate, Robert Tinoco, 22, said Saucedo's cousin and four friends from Los Angeles arrived Thursday to spend the weekend. They decided to have a drinking contest Thursday night, and Saucedo served as the bartender, doling out shots of tequila, vodka and whiskey, Tinoco said.
"Steve was a competitive guy," Tinoco said. "Whenever he would hang out with friends, whether it was bowling or whatever, he wanted to win. This time it was a drinking challenge."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/03/30/BAGTC5TE2L1.DTL