A young mother died due to a drinking contest on the eve of her birthday (6 photos + 1 video)
Maria José Ardila went clubbing with friends three days before her 24th birthday. She was preparing to celebrate and shared plans to move to the United States to be with her husband. The mother of a 10-month-old baby agreed to participate in a drinking contest. 
On October 25th, Maria and her friends went to the Sagsa club in Cali, Colombia. She decided to try her hand at a drinking contest consisting of six challenges. First, participants had to drink a double shot of Cucaracha liqueur in five seconds, then shots in the same amount of time, and then drink beer nonstop. 
The fourth challenge involved drinking three shots without using your hands. Next, they had to down a glass of a strong liquor known as aguardiente in 13 seconds without spilling a drop. And the final challenge was to drink eight different shots one after the other using a straw.
The prize was 2 million Colombian pesos. 
The young mother reached the sixth challenge, but could only manage three out of eight shots.
She muttered, "The last one tasted terrible," before passing out and collapsing on the floor in front of her stunned friends and clubgoers. 
She reportedly began having seizures, and friends tried to get her into a taxi to take her to the hospital. But no driver stopped to help. Maria was not breathing for about 17 minutes.
One of the group members contacted a friend, who arrived and drove them to the nearest hospital.
Her father, Andres Ardila, said his daughter developed aspiration pneumonia, causing one of her lungs to collapse.
At the medical center, doctors resuscitated Maria three times.
Andrés shared, "I watched my daughter's life fade away three times. They tried to revive her, intubated her, and we prayed for her." 
Maria was transferred to the intensive care unit, where she remained for three days. The family made the difficult decision to remove her from life support, as she was brain dead.
A representative of the Cali Secretariat of Health stated, "Unfortunately, a tragic event occurred—a woman was poisoned by alcohol. In this regard, we intend to strengthen controls over the sale of alcohol and will inspect commercial establishments. Our goal is to improve safety in the sale, marketing, and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the city."
A representative of the nightclub stated: "Sagsa sincerely regrets the tragedy that occurred on October 25. We express our condolences and support to the family during this difficult time. We are ready to provide all necessary assistance and cooperation."
The investigation into the cause of Maria's death is ongoing.
