Mom Sues Four Loko For Teen's Death

The parents of a teen who died after drinking two Four Lokos and running onto a highway have sued the beverage maker, reports the Chicago Tribune. The lawsuit claims the manufacturer was “careless and negligent” in making a caffeinated alcoholic drink that “desensitizes users to the symptoms of intoxication and increases the potential for alcohol-related harm.”

The 15-year-old died in September, two months before the FDA forced them to remove the caffeine from their product, warning them that it was an “unsafe food additive.”

The teen drank two cans, each of which can contain as much alcohol as five beers, at a tailgate party before a concert. Staff there called his mother to come pick him up because he was “erratic and agitated.” She drove to pick him up but when they returned to their neighborhood, he ran off on foot and was hit by a car on a nearby busy road.

Four Loko says their drink no longer contains caffeine, gaurana, or taurine and they plan to fight the lawsuit.

Family of 15-year-old files wrongful death suit against Four Loko maker [Chicago Tribune]

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