Race fan died from alcohol poisoning, friend says

08:36 PM EDT on Monday, May 23, 2005

By MARK BOONE / 6NEWS

Friends said Chris Keistler drank too much Saturday and died from alcohol poisoning.

CONCORD, NC -- A Charlotte man died after a race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway this weekend. Friends said Chris Keistler passed out after Saturday's All-Star race and never woke up.

Keistler, 46, liked NASCAR and loved to party.

“There were some times he probably drank a little too much, but you know I can't be a hypocrite. I've probably done the same thing,” said friend Jeremy Karle.

Karle worked with Keistler and talked him into coming along for a Saturday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

The pair joined a group of friends who watched the race and drank some beer and bourbon. It is not clear how much Keistler had to drink. He passed out in the passenger seat on the way back to Karle's west Charlotte home.

“We did what any friend or buddy would do. We picked him up. We laid him down on his stomach, he was snoring. You just don't think that that will be the last time you see him, you know,” Karle said.

Karle believes his buddy died from alcohol poisoning.

David Hampton heads Cabarrus County's paramedic teams and said rescue crews rarely see cases of alcohol poisoning among race fans.

“I can't remember the last one that we actually dealt with,” he said.

The most common alcohol-related call comes when the weather is warm and fans drink too much beer and not enough water. But Hampton said race fans having fun do not always see trouble before it's too late.

“It sure makes you think about the alcohol,” Hampton said. “It should make a lot of people think about it.”

The Medical Examiner is waiting for a toxicology report to determine Keistler's exact cause of death. Friends said he was single and did not have any known health problems.