Let’s face it, for a lot of people, Gasparilla is just as much about booze as it is the beads.
Right now people are stocking up on everything from rum to beer.
That is why Angie Ammon is issuing a warning before the drinking starts.
“People don't tend to think over drinking can kill me, but yes it can,” she said.
And she knows.
Her daughter Molly died from alcohol poisoning five years ago during spring break. She was only 19.
“It's horrible. It changes every minute of your life and your families. You are never the same,” Ammon said.
The mistake that cost Molly her life, Ammon is now trying to use to save yours.
“The most important thing is when a friend has too much to drink, you have to keep them awake, you cannot put them to bed. If they start to fall asleep and pass out, you have got to get help for them,” said Ammon.
Last year, 11 people went to the hospital during Gasparilla for alcohol poisoning.
And liquor isn’t the only problem.
Tampa Police arrested several people for having cocaine.
If the festivities are at home or in the streets, just know the decisions you make could have a lifetime of consequences.
“Just because it happened to a 19-year-old doesn't mean it couldn't happen to a 29-year-old or a 34-year-old,” said Ammon.
-----
