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Sandra Yi and Tonya Papanikolas ReportingA night of binge drinking landed two teenage girls in the hospital this weekend. Now they're sharing their story.
It wasn't the first time the girls, ages 15 and 16, had alcohol, but this time drinking almost killed them.
Malissa Arellano: "I just remember drinking. I didn't think anything was wrong."
But a Saturday night with friends quickly got out of control.
Malissa Arellano, Overdosed on Alcohol: "We drank a lot, probably 10 shots each."
Malissa was at her older sister's apartment with her friend Sydnee and another friend. While her sister slept the three shared a gallon of vodka.
Sydnee Wood: "We finished the whole bottle. I remember our friend going to the store, and the next thing, I just wake up in the hospital."
Their friend came back from the store to find the two passed out, vomiting, and unresponsive. The friend called her mother, who called 9-1-1.
Malissa Arellano: "It was scary. We could have died."
Police say the girls are lucky to be alive.
Det. Dwayne Baird, Salt Lake City Police Dept.: "You may not be used to consuming alcohol or much of it, and it's very easy to drink more than your body can handle."
The girls say they've learned their lesson and they want to share it with other teens.
Malissa Arellano: "I don't even want to drink that much. I think kids our age should be careful."
Sydnee Wood: "I've seen it on TV before and thought, 'that's never going to happen to me,' and look where I was, you know?"
Both girls say their parents didn't suspect they were drinking. They want parents to know it's easy for teens to get alcohol.
Malissa Arellano: "I think parents should be aware and talk to their kids about it because talking really helps. We never thought it could happen to us. It could happen to them just as easily as it happened to us."
Malissa's 20-year old sister was cited for contributing to delinquency of minors. Police say even though she didn't know the girls were drinking, she was partly responsible because it happened in her apartment.
You may be thinking this could never happen to me or my child. But in Utah, 86-thousand kids under the age of 17 say they've tried alcohol.
A 2005 survey shows 24-thousand Utah kids ages 11-13 had drunk alcohol, and 5-thousand had tried binge drinking. Up to age 15, over 50-thousand had tried alcohol, with over 12-thousand binge drinking.
And 23-thousand kids ages 11-17 have binged on alcohol.
Art Brown, MADD President: "What's catching people a little off guard is they're starting early and they're starting heavy."
Art Brown says what teens and parents don't realize is the self-control part of a teenager's brain isn't fully developed. Plus, they can drink more than an adult before feeling the sedating effects.
Art Brown: "They're still able to drink, whereas an adult would probably pass out early on."
That combination together is dangerous on its own, but heavy drinking at a young age is also a recipe for addiction.
Art Brown: "If you start drinking before 15, you have a 40 percent chance of becoming an alcoholic."
A national study also shows more girls are turning to alcohol because of low self-esteem and teenage stress. Brown recommends parents set clear boundaries for their kids, and then communicate with them about what they're going through.
