Pubdate: 15 Dec 1998
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
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Copyright: 1998 Chicago Tribune Company
Author: Amanda Vogt

CORONER: ALCOHOL HAD ROLE IN DEATH OF ILLINOIS TEEN AT INDIANA UNIVERSITY

A teenager from Vernon Hills, Ill., who died over the weekend after
drinking too much at a fraternity party at Indiana University, choked
to death on his own vomit, according to a pathologist's report
released today.

Although 19-year-old Joseph Bisanz didn't ingest a fatally toxic
amount of alcohol Saturday night, it was enough to cause the chain of
events that led to his death early Sunday, said Monroe County Coroner
George Huntington.

Huntington said the cause of death was asphyxiation due to aspiration
of vomit caused by alcohol intoxication.

A blood alcohol concentration of 0.4 is considered fatal under normal
circumstances, according to Chief Deputy Coroner Jim Wipper of Lake
County, Ill.

But there are many variables, including body size and tolerance, that
determine a person's response to alcohol intoxication, Wipper said.

He said Bisanz' blood alcohol concentration was probably 0.2 or higher
- -- substantial enough to incapacitate the youth to the extent that he
suffocated.

Indiana authorities would not release Bisanz' blood alcohol
concentration reading, which was taken shortly after his arrival at
Bloomington Hospital, according to Huntington. Bisanz was pronounced
dead there at 2:51 p.m. Sunday, according to a hospital
spokeswoman.

Bisanz was taken to the hospital about 3 a.m. Sunday after emergency
personnel were called to the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house, where
members were performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on an
unresponsive Bisanz, according to Jerry Minger, a lieutenant with the
Indiana University campus police.

Although the university had no further comment after the release of
the pathologist's report, Minger said the fraternity has been
suspended, which means it cannot take part in campus activities,
pending investigation of the death and the use of alcohol at the fraternity.

- ---
Checked-by: Rich O'Grady