BEAUFORT, S.C. — Authorities say a teenager died several hours after coming home drunk from a house party on an South Carolina island, and the adults who provided the alcohol could be charged with a crime.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were first called to a Beaufort home on Mint Farms Drive, where the teen lived, because he was unresponsive.
William Thompson, age 18, was transported to the Beaufort Memorial Hospital by EMS. Thompson was pronounced dead early Sunday at Beaufort Memorial Hospital.
“Sheriff’s Office deputies learned (Thompson) had come home intoxicated a few hours earlier, after attending a party at a residence on Parris Island Gateway,” deputies said in a press release.
Deputies investigating the house party Thompson attended found several other underage drinkers at the home, according to officials. No parents were at the home when deputies arrived, the Island Packet newspaper of Beaufort reported.
Two 18-year-old males who were passed out on couches were taken to the hospital for treatment, deputies said. The sheriff’s office did not have an update on their condition.
As of just before noon on Sunday, Sheriff’s Office investigators were still at the home in the 500 block of Parris Island Gateway serving a search warrant and interviewing other underage party goers, deputies said.
“Evidence of the deceased male and other underage persons consuming alcohol at the party has been located and collected,” deputies said.
Williams attended Whale Branch Early College High School, according to his Facebook profile.
An autopsy will determine Thompson’s blood-alcohol level. A toxicology report is expected to take several weeks.— The Associated Press contributed to this report
