Key Point Summary – Student Dies of Caffeine Overdose

• Christina Lackmann, 32, died in Melbourne after ingesting caffeine tablets.
• She called emergency services reporting dizziness and numbness.
• Her call was deemed “non-urgent” and the ambulance arrived 7 hours later.
• Paramedics found her deceased, with 90 caffeine tablets delivered that day.
• Coroner ruled the cause as caffeine toxicity but unclear if it was suicide.
• Overdoses can be deadly within hours and symptoms are often mistaken.
• Fatal caffeine doses range from 5 to 10 grams—equal to 25–50 tablets.

Melbourne Student Dies Waiting for Help After Caffeine Overdose

Christina Lackmann, a 32-year-old biomedical science student in Australia, died alone in her bathroom after taking a large dose of caffeine pills—and waiting nearly seven hours for an ambulance that came too late.

The chilling case has sparked outrage and renewed warnings about the dangers of over-the-counter stimulants and emergency dispatch delays.

A Tragic Delay in Response

Lackmann phoned emergency services at around 8 p.m., complaining that she felt dizzy, numb, and unable to move from the floor. The call-taker believed it was a case of vertigo and categorized it as non-urgent. As a result, the ambulance wasn’t dispatched until more than six hours later.

By the time paramedics arrived—after climbing through a neighbor’s balcony window—they found Lackmann’s lifeless body inside her bathroom. Her dog, clearly distressed, was the only other presence in the apartment.

Dangerous Levels of Caffeine

A toxicology report revealed lethal levels of caffeine in Lackmann’s blood. Records showed she had received 90 tablets of 200mg caffeine each earlier that same day. That’s 18 grams—potentially enough to kill multiple people.

Coroner Catherine Fitzgerald confirmed caffeine toxicity as the cause of death, but stopped short of labeling it a suicide. “I am not satisfied to the requisite standard that Christina intended to take her own life,” she said, though she acknowledged it remained a possibility.

A Preventable Tragedy?

Whether Lackmann would have survived with faster medical care remains uncertain. However, the coroner pointed out that overdoses involving stimulants like caffeine are “largely preventable” if clinicians are aware of what’s been consumed and respond promptly.

This wasn’t an isolated incident. In 2023, a fitness influencer in the UK died from a caffeine overdose linked to energy drinks. In 2018, a young Australian musician died after adding pure caffeine powder to a shake—proof that such deaths can strike without warning.

Know the Warning Signs

Caffeine is everywhere: coffee, tea, soda, supplements, even gum. Most healthy adults can handle up to 400 mg per day safely. But Lackmann’s 18,000 mg intake far exceeded that threshold.

Here’s what to watch for:

• Rapid heartbeat or palpitations
• Dizziness and confusion
• Vomiting or nausea
• Seizures or muscle twitching
• Chest pain or breathlessness

Symptoms can escalate quickly. Experts warn that 5 to 10 grams of caffeine can be fatal—equal to about 25 to 50 high-dose tablets.

A System Under Strain

The incident has also drawn scrutiny toward Australia’s emergency response system. Dispatchers made a judgment call that ultimately cost a life. Critics argue that any case involving altered consciousness, especially when paired with known stimulant use, should be treated as a potential medical emergency.

Christina Lackmann’s death now serves as both a warning about the underestimated risks of caffeine and a haunting example of what can go wrong when help arrives too late.

As the coroner stated, “This was a death that may have been prevented—had someone known what to look for and acted faster.”