Hollister man dies after night of drinking, father hopes young
adults can learn from tragedy
Hollister – Alcohol poisoning is believed to have caused the death of a 21-year-old Hollister man early Sunday morning after a night of binge drinking following the St. Patrick’s Day celebration, according to police.
David Gaitan, 21, died sometime between 2am and 8am on Sunday after drinking at a friend’s house, according to San Benito County Sheriff’s Detective Bryan Penney.
Police are awaiting autopsy results to determine the exact cause of death, but suspect acute alcohol intoxication, Penney said. Friends called police after finding Gaitan, alone in a bedroom, dead Sunday morning at 8am, Penney said.
The death comes in the wake of warnings by health officials that alcohol poisoning is serious and sometimes deadly, and that a person’s blood alcohol level can dangerously rise depending on how strong the alcoholic beverages are, how fast they’re drank and how much the person has in the stomach.
Gaitan, a recruiter with the National Guard in San Jose, graduated from San Benito High School in 2002. News of Gaitan’s death came as a shock to his family.
“He was my son. We loved him. This is a tragedy and it hurts so much,” said father Miguel Gaitan. “If you’re going to be in a group of friends, you need to take care of each other. Maybe if that would have happened my son would still be alive today.”
Miguel Gaitan said he knew his son’s friends and did not blame them for the death. Miguel said his son did not have problems with alcohol, but liked to drink and barbecue with friends, which is what he did on Saturday. He said his son was a patriotic American, an avid San Francisco 49ers fan, and a “good kid.”
“He enjoyed life, he loved his family,” Miguel Gaitan said. “He was just the kind of person you wanted to be around.”
San Benito High School wrestling coach Matt Olejnik, who worked with Gaitan as a varsity football player and wrestler, was devastated with the news.
“He had a great sense of humor and he never quit. He always gave 110 percent,” Olejnik said. “I couldn’t believe it. This is one of those things that always stays with you.”
Olejnik hopes his students will learn from the tragedy.
“Hopefully something positive will come from this,” he said. “Hopefully someone will ask what it means to be a good friend. You gotta know that you can’t leave people alone to pass out. You have to get them somewhere safe.”
Although rare, Penney said one death from alcohol poisoning in San Benito County is one too many.
“It’s very infrequent, but it can easily happen to any one at any time,” he said. “Young adults need to know when enough is enough. Alcohol can be deadly.”
Penney said many 21-year-olds are lured into a false sense of safety by thinking that so long as they don’t drive, they can’t get hurt.
“Once your blood alcohol level hits 0.3 percent, that’s acute alcohol intoxication,” Penney said. “You can loose your gag reflex and choke on your own vomit or your brain can shut down and stop telling your lungs to breathe.”
Gaitan’s autopsy is scheduled for today, however his blood alcohol level will not be known until the toxicology results come back, which could be weeks.
Penney said the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office was particularly concerned about the incident with high school prom just a few months away.
“We’re not preaching,” he said. “We just don’t want this to happen again.”
Undersheriff Pat Turturici said he hopes others can learn from the tragedy before it’s too late.
“Sometimes these kids don’t realize how much they’ve had to drink and their bodies just shut down,” he said. “If we can help get out the word about the dangers of binge drinking, hopefully we can save lives.”
