Indo-American Student Died Of Alcohol Poisoning

WASHINGTON – An 18-year-oldIndian-American student of VillanovaUniversity in Philadelphia, whose bodywas found in her dormitory room inAugust, died of alcohol poisoning,according to mediareports.The Delaware countymedical examiner, whoseoffice released autopsyresults of Kinara Patel, asecond year student fromHackensack, New Jersey,has declined to discloseher blood-alcohol contentat the time of her death,philly.com reported.Patel’s body was foundAug 29 three days into thesemester, inside herSullivan Hall dorm after spending anight with friends in Bryn Mawr, policesaid declining to provide moredetails.Villanova spokesperson JonathanGust called Patel’s death a devastatingloss for “people that knew her and manyothers who didn’t”.He would not say if university officialsknew where Patel had been drinking.”Alcohol abuse and underage drinking isa growing national problem for collegestudents, and Villanova recognises thoseissues and we’re committedto educating our studentsabout the effects ofalcohol,” Gust was quotedas saying. Each year,between 1,300 and 1,400college students die fromalcohol-related injuries,including alcohol poisoningand car crashes,according to the NationalInstitute of AlcoholAbuse and Alcoholism.Founded in 1842,Villanova University is aCatholic university with an undergraduateand graduate enrolment of morethan 10,000 students. Its campusstretches into two townships — LowerMerion and Radnor — in bothMontgomery and Delaware counties ofPhiladelphia.