10-Year-Old Boy Mistakenly Served Rum at Olive Garden
- Posted on April 21, 2012 at 8:59am by
Madeleine Morgenstern
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Image source: WISH-TV
A 10-year-old Indianapolis boy was taken to the hospital Thursday after being mistakenly served a rum cocktail instead of a smoothie, the Indianapolis Star reported.
The boy drank about half of the 4-ounce drink before the waitress realized she’d served the wrong drink.
It happened around 10 p.m. Thursday after Sergio Maldonado Castrellon’s parents ordered him a Wildberry Frullato. No one at the table ordered alcohol.
The waitress realized her mistake and told her supervisor, who informed the boy’s parents. The parents said they started to notice he wasn’t acting like himself. A police report said the restaurant’s management told the mother the boy would be fine, WISH-TV reported.
“By this time the child began to show signs of not being himself,” the report stated, according to the Star.
The parents took Sergio to the hospital, where a small amount of alcohol was found in his system. He was reportedly “alert” but “shaken up.”
The restaurant chain released a statement Friday saying the waitress involved has been fired.
“We find this situation completely unacceptable and we are extremely upset that this occurred,” the statement said. “We have a zero tolerance policy for any violation of our responsible alcohol service policy, and the employee who served the wrong drink has been terminated. We are thankful that the child is okay and we will continue to work with the family to resolve this issue.”
It’s the second time in little more than a year that a child has been served alcohol at an Olive Garden; last year, a toddler was served alcoholic sangria instead of orange juice.
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Comments (133)
vigibill
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 11:05am…and people wonder why we are a litigious society. This should never have gone beyond the restaurant.
Report Post »shotzie
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 12:04pmI sure do hope some people come forward to stand up for this poor waitress. She did the right thing when she realized a MISTAKE had occurred, notified her supervisor and then the parents. It was a MISTAKE. Also do not realize why this child was rushed to a hospital over half of a smoothie drink with some rum in it? Has anyone had a drink in an Olive Garden that had more than a token amount of alcohol in it anyway? All blown WAY out of proportion. An apology and a free meal and forget it about it would have been the appropriate course of action here. The poor child probably suffered more from having to have blood drawn (if they found alcohol in his system that’s more than likely what a hospital would have done) and all the hysteria than he did from a little drink. Good grief.
Report Post »awestruck
Posted on April 22, 2012 at 12:14amDitto!
Report Post »watashbuddyfriend
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 11:03amSooooooo! What’s the problem? Betcha boy was enjoying it, and parents were amused, while he was drinking it? Time to move on….
Report Post »nosharia
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:58amTraining issue….the alcohol in a restaurant should be nowhere near the smoothie ingredients.
Report Post »Lancashire
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:37amCha-Ching!!
Report Post »ishka4me
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:47amkey word is mistake. Those without a mistake in their history can throw the first stone.
Report Post »ShyLow
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 4:33pmintoxicated but o live…just drank milk that taste funny
Report Post »djmaine
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:20amBack in the day we called this a mistake. The waitress would get a warning (She did the right thing to report it to her boss and then the Mother and therefore not premeditated). The parent would then realize the source of the child’s odd behavior was alcohol and use the opportunity to teach his/her children about the affects of alcohol and how it can be dangerous. Everyone would finish dinner and go home. Each person would be better for it.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:28amYes .. not now .. how long before the parents file a lawsuit … 1 ..2 … 3 ….’we will continue to work with the family to resolve this issue”.
Pretty simple solution here … do they serve the “kiddie drinks” in a different glass .. if not they should .. you would think one of the plastic kind with kid stuff on the outside .. instead of the glass like an adult … problem solved (unless the bartender screws up ;-)
Report Post »Capitalist Mama
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:34amUnless of course, the child then died of alcohol poisoning.
Not everything is a teachable moment.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:59amOlive Garden… should claim Diplomatic Immunity… as it is Italian… and does not allow American Flags on their Territory!
Report Post »Toltepeceno
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 11:08amCapitalist Mama Alchol poisoning? Maybe 1/2 oz of alcohol? Are you for reaL? People put that much in baby’s bottles when I was growing up. Why are children in europe not dropping dead left and right from drinking wine? I see children smaller than that drinking polque (healthy it is said) here in mexico, why are they not poisoned.
Sometimes I wonder about people any more.
I’m not saying drinking is good for children, but alcohol poisoning? Really?
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 11:37amThe kid was probably quieter than he’d ever been and thus the odd behavior the parents experienced. Be thankful parents, your little tike was probably obnoxiously noisy before anyway.
Also, why is the waitress fired? If the bar made the drink, isn’t it the bartenders fault? He put the alcohol in the smoothie; she only served it. How would she know alcohol was placed in the smoothie? If the waitress made it then shame on her, but I must say it is one way to quiet a noisy tike.
Report Post »shotzie
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 12:09pmCAPITALIST MAMA – Alcohol poisoning – surely you were being sarcastic?? From half of a smoothie drink served in a restaurant? Maybe, maybe, maybe half a shot of alcohol? He was 9. Probably somewhere between 40-60 pounds. That seems highly far-fetched, unless he had some very unusual medical situation – which was not mentioned.
Report Post »PaxInVeritate
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:18amOh for the love of Pete!! The kid drank 2oz of booze he ain’t going to die or become permanently mentally impaired. Rushing the kid to a hospital?? 1. The waitress screwed up. 2. The parents over reacted. 3. The restaurant doesn’t want to get sued for major bucks, so fire waitress and “work with” the parents to resolve the issue (aka payment out of court). My solution… let the boy sleep it off and comp our dinner. Oh, by the way… 10 year old Italians drink vino on occasions. Irony… An Italian family goes to an Italian restaurant in America and gets torqued that son drinks something other than vino.
Report Post »Capitalist Mama
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:35amRum is not wine. The levels of alcohol are much higher for “hard liquor.”
Report Post »booger71
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:51amEuropean children routinely drink alcohol with meals. These parents over reacted. When I was a kid, my dad let me take swigs of homemade wine or bourbon when we were out fishing. Now he would be put in jail.
Report Post »Toltepeceno
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 11:16amCapitalist mama He was also not served straight rum, it was a cocktail. At the most a 4 oz coctail would have 1 oz of rum (probably less) and he drank half. At 86 proof it would take about 2 1/2 – 3 ounces of 15% (equal to 30 proof) wine to equal that 1/2 oz of rum. Some people are being ridiculous.
Report Post »PaxInVeritate
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 11:57amNever had home brewed wine have you? They add water to cut the potency. And thnk you for the info about the difference between Rum and Wine. Favorite Dark Rum “Gosling’s Black Seal“ and favorite red wine at the moment is ”Justin 2009 Cab”. My point being that this really wasn’t a big deal.
Report Post »Winedude
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 7:44pmCapitalist Mama: There is no difference in the total alcohol between one twelve ounce beer, one five ounce glass of wine and a cocktail with one ounce of distilled spirits (hard liquor for all you Crackers). The kids didn’t consume very much alcohol at all. This was a mistake and the waitress shouldn’t have been fired. Therefore I am continuing the boycott of Olive Garden, started because they claim to serve Italian food, when there is no such thing on the menu.
Report Post »down4minds
Posted on April 22, 2012 at 5:06ami was gona say EXACTLY what cofemale said i agree 100 percent
Report Post »Thighmaster
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:12amLook, either stop serving drinks where children are present or write it off as “accidents happen”. Give the family some free meals and leave the lawyers out of it. Everybody wins but the attorneys…
Report Post »RightUnite
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:52amGood luck on that! Guarantee, there will be a lawsuit coming out of this.
Report Post »Wyld_goose
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:08amAs someone who works for OG I don’t understand how a mistake like this can occur. Not only are there different glasses for alcohol and non alcohol, but all kids drinks go in kids cups. No exception. Not only that, but the server has to confirm with the bartender every time they pick up a specialty drink. So there is no excuse for this.
With that being said…… What kind of parent has their 10 yr old child eating out at a restaurant at 10:00 on a school night?
Report Post »Kerstile
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:46amNon-alcoholic drinks should be prepared AWAY from the bar. Bar = alcoholic drinks. These “events” will keep happening. The waitress is not totally at fault. There is a systems problem. The system they use where all drinks are prepared at the bar is flawed. When all drinks are prepared at an alcohol bar and you do not witness the child’s exotic (what the hay, or non-exotic) drink being made, taste it before allowing the child to have it.
Report Post »shotzie
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 12:17pmWILD_GOOSE – THANK YOU!!! Reading the comments I was wondering when someone would pick up on that. 10 p.m. – 9 year old child – Thursday night??? Kind of sets up the picture better doesn’t it? School is still in session. Friday was not a holiday. So what gives here? Also the restaurant is still “working with the family”…. What else is there to be done? The child should not have been out that late, the parents grossly over-reacted, the restaurant over-reacted – now it’s on The Blaze. This is not really important news, other than it shows how ridiculous some people have become.
Report Post »beksma
Posted on April 22, 2012 at 6:08pmWhy shouldn’t parents take a child out to eat at 10pm? Perhaps it is spring break?
As for the hospital situation, it is to cover the parents butt as much as anything. If said child went to school and talked about it, the teacher would be required to report it as neglect or abuse (I was a mandated reporter for years) so by taking the child to the hospital to prove he was fine, there is a record AND proof that it occured with OUT parental permission.
Report Post »TWO BITS
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:52amOlive Garden is one of the chains that cozzied up to Obama for an exemption to the Affordable Care Act, and dining there can send one to the hospital. Funny stuff.
Report Post »KangarooJack
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:44amI’m sure the child was upset/disoriented due to being swept off to a hospital. Parents rubbing their hands in anticipation of a lawsuit. Ever HAD an alcoholic drink at a restaurant??? The kid probably got LESS THAN a shotglass of rum. Best case scenario would be the family got their meals commped. but NO, gonna be a lawsuit on this one.
Report Post »scuba13
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:43amEncinom is an idiot. Thanks for the comment space Serum.
Report Post »little big man
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:42amCome on did they take the kid to the emergency room. christ sake take him home and let him sleep it off.
Report Post »Tom Dooley
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:35amOn my 10th birthday my parents took me to parkers restaurant to celebrate my parents ordered martinis and ordered me a virgin martini,guess what we got 3 martinis my parents figured it out when I started playing air guitar .They straightened out the waiter did not even call the management, he took good care of us for the rest of the night ,he did not get fired, overburdened emergency rooms were not visited.Police were not taken from more important jobs to fill out police reports,I was not stuck with hypodermic needles,plus I have had a pretty funny memory to share with my family .The night my parents took me out and got me drunk! compare that with the memories this kid has.
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:45amLuck you. If the police had found out, your parents would have been arrested for allowing alcohol to be served to a minor.
Report Post »cristo52
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:54amSo Tom, a martini is vodka or gin with dry vermouth. Just booze, and it’s clear. What exactly goes in a “virgin” martini? Have you actually tasted a martini? It’s the sort of adult drink a kid would simply spit out.
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:57amyes these parents over reacted big time. when my folks were growing up kids were given booze for coughs, sore throats and just in general large family celebrations. while I do not touch alcohol, I am not seeing a huge problem with this, the kid is fine. funny that the parents didn’t notice until they were told….
Report Post »Mtroom
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:53amI remember being told of my grandparents using drops of alcohol in baby bottles to get my parents to sleep and they turned out fine… Plus I’ve heard it was a common practice back in the day.. This was a mistake and had major over reaction… From what the OG employee stated above it sounds like OG has the guidelines in place so this doesn’t happen, releasing this employee might have been harsh because she sounds like an honest employee… But without all the details of this employee‘s record I can’t make that assessment… Emergency room?… Are these folks even fit to be parents?.. WTF?… A 4oz drink won’t have enough in it to hurt a child unless it has an allergy to alcohol or something like that, and you would know in moments if that was the case… They acted like the kid drank some drain-O from under the sink… Gimme a break.
Report Post »Toltepeceno
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:53amUh, there’s no such thing as a virgin martini. Take the alcohol out and you have a glass of air.
Report Post »EL CHOQUE
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 3:36pmAMEN, Tom Dooley, but there will be no good/funny memories for this kid, what with the “everything is someone else’s fault, sue them all society” this country has become.
Report Post »AffirmationChick
Posted on April 22, 2012 at 3:17am@Taquoshi Actually, no. It’s generally legal for parents to give their children alcohol. As it should be. Keep your hands off my parenting, even if that parenting would be a seriously stupid choice.
Report Post »Tri-ox
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:34amUh, his parents took him to a hospital? A police report was filed? His parents blabbed the story to the local media? Good Lord, unnecessary-ridiculous-drama-overkill. The kid drank rum, not cyanide.
Report Post »RoqueGerig
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:30amIm 53, my father gave me beer from about 6 years on, a sip here and there. No big deal. This was an accident. Why would these people make a show of this by going to to the hospital ensuring the person lost her job, when they could have simply laughed this it off? The hospital? Turds¡
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:42amBecause, based on how much alcohol was in that drink and the child’s weight and rate of consumption, he could have died. Children do not have the ability to metabolize alcohol well. To them, it can become a toxic poison. Fortunately, for this child, he was okay, but other children have not been so fortunate. Also, it is illegal in most states to serve alcohol to minors.
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:59am1 slowly sipped frozen drink with a small amout of rum isn’t going to kill a child especially when given with food which slows the absorbtion. if I ran the olive garden drinks with booze would have different colored straws. simple.
Report Post »Thighmaster
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:07amTaq, he could have been killed in the drive home. If the alcohol could have killed him I’d be dead. I got into my parents alcohol as a kid and at 17 I was unloading railroad cars and drinking Colt 45 afterward. At 62 y/o I don’t drink, I just don’t care for it anymore.
Report Post »Toltepeceno
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:59amTaquoshi This was a frozen or smoothie type drink. Normally an ounce at the most in a 4 oz drink, the kid drank 1/2 an oz at the most. When I was growing up parents put that much in baby bottles to calm babies. YOU are also overreacting.
The waitress would never be prosecuted for accidently serving him alcohol, the parents had no knowledge so nothing there. Win in civil court? Probably the way it is now.
Report Post »right-wing-waco
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 11:17amSo don’t let the kid drive home.
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:05pmMost respectfully, Thigh & Tolt – I don’t think I was over reacting. Talk to a pediatrician, your choice.
It all has to do with the absorption rate and the child’s body mass. This child was 10. The odds were in his favor. The younger the child, the greater the danger. The following link deals with babies, which this child was certainly not, but the basic chemistry remains true. Rum has an alcohol percentage that is much higher than beer or wine. Yes, parents allow their children to drink alcohol at young ages. Yes, they have given infants alcohol in their bottles. That doesn’t change the laws of chemistry.
http://www.baby-safety-concerns.com/signs-of-alcohol-poisoning.html
http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2011/08/22/children-as-young-as-four-treated-treated-for-alcohol-poisoning/
Many years ago, I was present in an ER when the EMTs brought in a five year old child. The image of the little hand dangling over the edge of the stretcher is still vivid. They were bagging her and trying (unsuccessfully) to get an IV going. Her parents had a party the night before. I guess rum and coke was the drink of the hour. She got up early and finished off all the “soda” in the glasses. She didn’t make it.
Report Post »RoqueGerig
Posted on April 22, 2012 at 11:47am40 ml of 40% alcohol, diluted into 8 to 10 oz and drunk by a child 50 – 100 pounds. When my 6 yr old daughter was run over and rolled down a hill by a 250 pound man on a sled, i ‘ran’ her to the hospital ER. Maybe my sense of danger is not fine-tuned enough, but this incident seems like drama for its own sake.
Report Post »lancestevens
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:30amWell that‘s one of the things that’s wrong today. A kid takes a drink of alcohol…didn’t all of us have some adult..like the crazy ass uncle slip you a little taste when you were about this kid’s age? Not all of us grew up in perfect households and situations. It’s a big deal over nothing..and the parents are going to be outrageously aggrieved at all the ‘harm’ done emotionally to their child. The kid’s not hurt, the kid was probably feeling OK…and probably having a better than average time at the Olive Garden. But Olive Garden legal will settle this issue, they’ll give the parents 10 to 20G just to shut them up…and it will all go away. Anyway..must be a slow news day.
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:44amHe was 10 years old. Had he been younger, it could have been much more tragic.
Report Post »booger71
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 10:55amWell kids as young as 6 routinely drink wine with dinner in Europe. I guess there are kids dropping dead in the streets over there from alcohol poisoning.
Report Post »lancestevens
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 11:05amShoulda, coulda, woulda. BS. Its not like the kid drank battery acid. He got served by accident…and saying it could’ve been worse, it like saying, it could rain today. Yes it could but it is what it is. A mistake. Get over it.
Report Post »DawgBreath
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:26amA Wildberry Frulatto?? If the kid would have just ordered a scotch, neat, there wouldn’t have been any mix-up.
Report Post »SERUM
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:23amI know my mom would have said”he’ll be fine, but don’t let him order a second one.”
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:19amYour first hangover, what a special memory.
Report Post »trinklefinder
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 2:18pmlol. I can’t even remember my first hangover, been faaaar too many since then. stooopid alcoholism.
Report Post »momrules
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:16amLawyers, lawsuits to follow………..They took him to the hospital!!! Get a grip people.
Report Post »TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:15amOlive Garden can now be added to the list of “gateways” to alcoholism…
Report Post »Jenny Lind
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:15amOK, everyone who has family that drinks on occasions, like parties and weddings etc, raise your hands. Now anyone who has the above, and has had a kid sneek sone “grown-up” drink they were not supposed to, raise your hands. How many of those kids did you drag to the hospital? Did you watch them close and let them puke and then sleep it off? (I don’t drink, but my husbands family does and we have seen this silliness) No one went to the press, no one went crazy, everything turned out fine, kids learned a bit of a lesson. The next question is, does olive garden have all drinks mixed in the bar area? If so, a change is in order.
Report Post »pavnvet
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:34amAh, a voice of reason. Yep, I caught my kids sipping on a “grown-up” drink when they were children at a wedding.. I sure didn’t take them to a hospital, just told them it was not acceptable. Today, both of them are in their 40‘s and don’t drink alcohol at all.
I feel badly for the waitress. It was probably not totally her fault. Some of these fruit drinks look an awful like the mixed ones. It was a lot simpler back in my day, if you were a boy you got a Roy Rodgers and if you were a girl, it was a Shirley Temple. I wonder what would happen if you ordered one of those in the Olive Garden?
Report Post »SERUM
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:13amThese restaurants need to stop serving “virgin” drinks to under aged patrons, maybe this would stop the confusion, I feel sorry for the waitress, as for the kid, he got a free ride.
Report Post »N37BU6
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:23amI feel bad for her too.
Lesson learned. She’ll be 100 times more careful now than any new replacement employee would be. But I can see how bad Olive Garden would look if she did it again… liability is always the biggest worry.
There were probably other reasons for her firing, and this was just the final straw.
Report Post »SERUM
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:30amI think it‘s more the restaurants fault then the waitress’ fault for knowing or not this could have happened serving“virgins” to kids. Hmmm…she might have a case herself.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:07amIf you were actually in Europe… there would be no problem!
Report Post »jungle J
Posted on April 21, 2012 at 9:04amnow …watch all of the stupid statement that are about to come.
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