Parents speak out after teen’s death due to drinking game in Grande Prairie

FREDERICTON, N.B. — The parents of an 18-year-old who passed away earlier this month are hoping their story is heard by others so similar tragedies can be prevented in the future.

Cory and Tracey Gattan of New Brunswick told the CBC their son Brady died on Feb. 4 after becoming involved in drinking games at a party in Grande Prairie, A.B.

He graduated from high school in 2015, and moved to Alberta to live with in grandmother while training to become a welder.

When the couple received an early-morning phone call, Cory knew something was wrong.

“It was about four o’clock in the morning and I knew,” he told the CBC News. “Something happened in my spirit. I just knew something was wrong.”

It was his mother-in-law on the line from Grande Prairie, telling them Brady was in the intensive care unit.

Not many details were known in the beginning, but eventually it was learned that Brady has been found unconscious at a house party after he and a group of people had been playing beer pong.

Beer pong is typically played with teams of two and cups filled with beer, with the objective being to throw a ball into a cup on the opposite side of the table and have your opponent drink it if it lands in.

However, it seemed hard alcohol was being used in place of beer when it was being played at the party, and within the span of just a few hours, a dangerous amount of alcohol had been consumed.

“So it’s a whole new game now, and it’s a dangerous game. It’s a deadly game and I’d just like to bring awareness to people because you don’t think it can happen to you?” Cory said. “I never imagined that it could happen to us.”

“Be smart. I mean, don’t make your parents go through this. Don’t make anyone go through this,” Tracey said.

Read the full story here.