Student dies of overdose of caffeine during delay in 7-hour ambulance

An Australian college student died from an overdose of caffeine after waiting the ambulances for several hours.

Christina Lackmann, 32, was a biomedical science student who was found dead at her home in Melbourne in April 2021, according to 9News.

Lackman had called emergency services around 8am with local time, saying she felt staggering, numb and could not be raised from the floor.

Believing it was Vertigo, the operator labeled the “non-urgent” issue-and the ambulance failed until 2am, nearly seven hours since she had made the frantic call for the first time.

After climbing through the balcony of a neighbor, the Paramedicians discovered her body in her bathroom – only besides her anxious dog.

It seems she had been dead for some time.

A toxicology report showed that she had high high levels of caffeine in her blood at the time of her death, and email exchanges showed that she had received 90 200mg of caffeine tablets that day.

“I am glad that Christina’s death was the consequence of swallowing caffeine tablets,” said Catherine Catherine Fitzgerald.

“However, I am not satisfied with the necessary standard that Christina intended to take her life, though this remains a special opportunity.”

Coroner said it was impossible to determine its likelihood of survival if the ambulance had arrived earlier, mentioning, however, that overdoses are “mostly preventable when treating clinics know what they are treating”.

While relatively rare, caffeine overdose can be fast and brutal.

Last March, a 28-year-old “Queen of Training” died of a caffeine overdose, which her broken mother blamed for energy drinks.

In 2018, 21-year-old Australian musician Lachlan Fooote died of caffeine toxicity after adding a teaspoon of caffeine powder to a protein shock.

Experts say most healthy adults can safely consume up to 400 mg of caffeine a day, which translates into four cups of coffee, 10 soda cans or two energy drinks.

While it can vary based on individual factors, 5-10 grams of caffeine is considered a deadly dose for most people.

Symptoms of a caffeine overdose include:

High doses can make the heart beating messy or as fast as it fails.

They can also disrupt the main electrolytes, leading to sudden death.