1 Dead, 2 ‘Violently Sick’ After Ingesting Beer Tainted With Cleaning Chemicals at Local Bar

Burke St. Pub in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. (Photo: Google Maps)

A fatal mistake involving toxic chemicals led to the death of one and the hospitalization of two others at a pub in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The incident traces back to Nov 9 when Connor Sebastian, 31, and several others ordered beer off the tap at Burke St. Pub. Two days earlier, a contractor had allegedly flushed the beer line with cleaning chemicals that remained in the system.

“On Tuesdays, people come in here. A contracted company comes in here to clean our beer lines out, and I think that they left the cleaner in one of the beer lines,” a caller told 911 operators at 8:20 pm on Nov 9.

“All three of these people drank the exact same beer and immediately began vomiting. They said it was burning their throats, their mouth. Two of them have gone to the hospital. One of them is still here, violently ill. Please send an ambulance.”

Sebastian was the last customer to be taken to the hospital, where he later passed away.

The North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, Winston-Salem Police Department and Forsyth County Health Department have all stated that they are not looking into the case.

“The City sends condolences to the family of the deceased individual, those injured, and anyone affected by this tragedy. As to whether this incident would trigger a nuisance abatement notification from the City, there is no indication that this matter would qualify under Chapter 19 of the North Carolina General Statutes, which is the applicable law,” said the city of Winston-Salem in a public statement.

The president of Caffey Distributing — the contract company behind the cleaning — says that they are “investigating the matter” and have “no further comment at this time.”

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