Here's why it's a terrible idea to let a drunk person 'sleep it off'

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October 13, 2017 10:06 PM

A frat pledge died after his 'brothers' invited him over for a night of initiation drinking. Here's how to spot the signs someone is in serious trouble.

In September, 18-year-old Louisiana State University freshman Maxwell Gruver died after fraternity brothers invited the pledge to a late-night "bible study" at their fraternity house. Gruver died with a blood alcohol level of .495 in his system, The Washington Post reports. That's more than 6 times the legal limit in most states.

Gruver passed out around midnight at the frat house, but two of his fellow students waited until the morning to take him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to the New York Times.

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) measures the proportion of drops of alcohol to drops of blood in a person's body. (A BAC of .1 indicates a drinker has 1 drop of alcohol per 1,000 drops of blood in their system.) All US states consider a person unfit to drive at .08, while more serious concerns like vomiting, blackouts and loss of consciousness set in around .16 to .3, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Most people probably don't have a breathalyzer laying around in order to get an accurate BAC measurement when they need it most.

Still, there are a few simple ways to spot when someone's blood alcohol level has entered the dangerous territory of alcohol poisoning.

UVA has developed the acronym 'PUBS' to help its students remember the signs someone may be dangerously drunk. Call 911 right away if someone is:

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