Excessive Drinking Linked to Two Deaths Near UC Berkeley

Two separate alcohol-related incidents resulted in the premature deaths of two college students who passed away after excessive drinking near UC Berkeley.

UC Berkeley student Apoorve Agarwal, 20, of San Ramon was found dead outside his home at approximately 4 a.m. on December 20, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Agarwal had reportedly fallen down a flight of stairs and died of blunt force trauma. Police believe alcohol was a factor in his death.

The second victim, Vaibhev Loomba, 20, was a UC Davis student from Lafayette who died around noon on November 9 at Zeta Psi fraternity. According to the Chronicle, Loomba reportedly died of acute alcohol poisoning.

A study done by researchers at Toronto, Canada-based St. Michael’s Hospital found that premature deaths are more likely in areas that have greater occurrences of alcohol outlets, including bars and liquor stores.

Excessive alcohol use results in 88,000 deaths in the United States annually and 2.5 million deaths worldwide.

Adelle Nazarian is on Twitter @AdelleNaz