Riley Strain May Have Had 12-15 Drinks Before Drowning

Source: Photos Courtesy of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department / Metropolitan Nashville Police Department

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — You may remember learning about Riley Strain, the University of Missouri student who drowned in a river in Nashville in March.

Well, investigators now believe the 22-year-old had consumed 12 to 15 alcoholic drinks before he died due to drowning and ethanol intoxication. His blood alcohol level was .228.

This news may come as a surprise, as the Tennessee Alcohol Beverage Commission had previously stated that Strain had not been over-served that night. But, he had eventually been asked to leave a bar.

Some of his fraternity brothers later said he had been drinking prior to the group’s venture to the bars.

They noted that his speech was slurred when they last spoke to him on the phone, when he told them that he was heading back to the hotel for the night. The next day, they realized he was missing.