Coroner eyes hard liquor sales

County Coroner Pete Martin last week said he believes the state’s conversion to hard liquor sales in commercial stores increases the problem of high-risk drinking by college students. Martin believes sales of hard liquor in stores reduced the state controls which were in place before the state converted to the new system.

Martin Oct. 31 issued a cause of death for Kenneth D. Hummel, 18, a WSU freshman who was found unconscious and taken to the emergency room at Pullman Regional Hospital Oct. 27. An autopsy on the student was conducted Oct. 30, and the cause of death was determined to be accidental due to over consumption of alcohol.

Martin’s official report said Hummel died of ethanol poisoning. He later explained ethanol is a technical description for alcohol derived from natural sources present in distilled liquor. He said a subsequent report by WSU which listed Hummel’s blood alcohol content at .4 conformed with his initial report. The state’s legal standard for intoxication is .08 blood alcohol level.

Hummel, who was in Stephenson Hall when he was discovered, essentially died because he consumed hard liquor at a rate faster than his body could accommodate, Martin explained.

The WSU report outlined new efforts on campus to curb high-risk drinking. Martin said one of his concerns was the new availability of hard liquor from commercial stores. He said he believes the new marketing system, which was approved by the state voters last year, multiplies the sources for hard liquor and reduces supervisions for checking identification. That can be a hazard for a campus population which includes young adults who are away from home for the first time, he noted.