It’s a parent’s worst nightmare: Your child accidentally drinks alcohol and gets drunk.
That’s what happened last Friday when a North Carolina family dined out and a waitress’ mistake sent their toddler to the hospital.
Derek and Tiffany Gilliam took their 2-year-old daughter Gabriela to a Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Asheville to celebrate Derek’s 25th birthday. It was supposed to be a fun night out, but it quickly turned into a horror story instead.
The Gilliams ordered non-alcoholic drinks and cranberry juice for the toddler, but the waitress, whose name has not been released, accidentally served the girl sangria instead.
Gabriela Gilliam
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After the 2-year-old took in a sip, it appears that the sangria, which is a cocktail made up of wine and fruit, was too much for her small body and she immediately felt the effects. When she told her mother that her drink tasted funny, Tiffany Gilliam tried it and was shocked to discover that it contained booze. She told ABC affiliate WSOCTV News:
“She was staggering and she was kissing everything.”
The young family went to the hospital where doctors said the girl suffered from accidental alcohol ingestion. Gabriela had to be monitored for a few nights as she slept. Her mother said:
“I had to rub her belly the whole night and she slept with us because I was scared that she might not wake up. [I]t was the most horrible feeling ever.”
Tiffany and Derek Gilliam
The toddler has since recovered and will not suffer from any ailments because of the ingested alcohol. An email from a spokesperson for the restaurant apologized on Monday.
“Unfortunately, we did accidentally serve sangria to the child, We are 100 percent in error and our employees have owned up to that fact. Our processes and procedures are designed to prevent this from happening, but unfortunately human error occurred.”
Although the meal was comped and a manager had accompanied the family to the hospital, the experience has ruined dining out for the Gilliams, especially since Texas Roadhouse was one of their favorites. Tiffany Gilliam said:
“I don’t want that to ever happen to anybody else’s child.”
