UPDATED: Riceville man, 22, dies after drinking alcohol, energy drinks and possibly medicine

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Arkansas-North Carolina Live Blog

Chattanooga police have identified a 22-year-old Riceville man who died while en route to a local hospital early this morning.

Caleb T. Hixson, who was transported from a North Chattanooga apartment complex, had been drinking with friends Wednesday night, consuming energy drinks and may have taken medication, according to a news release from Chattanooga police spokesman Officer Nathan Hartwig.

Police and emergency medical services were called to Riverview Grande apartments on North Natchez Road after Hixson went into a bedroom and started wrecking the room, cutting himself on a piece of glass in the process, Hartwig said.

Hixson went into cardiac arrest in the ambulance on the way to Erlanger and was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to police.

There are no obvious signs of foul play, but investigators are conducting interviews and collecting evidence to rule out the possibility, Hartwig said.

The cause of death is unknown pending review by the Hamilton County medical examiner, and a toxicology test could take weeks, he said.