Preliminary autopsy results indicate an 19-year-old University of Mary football player died of alcohol poisoning, according to Burleigh County Sheriff Steve Berg.

U-Mary freshman Dusten Gailey, of Green River, Wyo., died early Sunday morning after being discovered unconscious on the floor of his dormitory room on campus.

Separately, another U-Mary football player remains in critical condition in a Minot hospital after a car crash near Leeds that occurred at about the same time Gailey was pronounced dead. Anthony Lalum, 19, of Minnewaukan, was driving a vehicle that pulled in front of another car on Highway 2. His passenger, Ryan Ebach, 19, of Minnewaukan, has been cited with being a minor in possession of alcohol, according to Highway Patrol Sgt. Joe Knowski.

"There was alcohol at the scene," Knowski said. He said Lalum has not been cited or charged with anything "simply because a lot of things with him can't be confirmed." He said the investigation into the crash is ongoing.

According to the Highway Patrol's accident report, Lalum stopped at the intersection of Highway 2 and then pulled out onto the highway, into the path of another vehicle carrying a family of four. Lalum's vehicle was broadsided on the driver's side. Neither Lalum nor Ebach were wearing seatbelts, nor were two teenagers in the back seat of the other vehicle, who also were injured.

As for the Gailey case, Berg said investigators are interviewing witnesses, and once the investigation is complete it will be up to the state's attorney to determine whether any criminal charges are applicable. Burleigh County State's Attorney Richard Riha said the possibility of charges depends on the circumstances. If someone provided alcohol to Gailey, for example, they could be charged with delivering alcohol to a person under 21. But Riha said the case would more likely involve civil liability.

Berg would not say where Gailey may have consumed the alcohol because he said he didn't want to jeopardize the investigation.

"We have our ideas where the drinking did occur," he said.

Berg said Gailey's death should heighten the community's awareness of the dangers of abusing alcohol. Berg's daughter graduated from U-Mary last year, and he also attended the private Catholic college south of Bismarck.

"Any college you're going to have drug and alcohol abuse," he said. "I think we have to really wake up. There's a lot of work to be done."

Berg said alcohol is a big problem in this area, and while drinking may seem harmless, alcohol violations are Burleigh County's No. 1 offense, and alcohol is often a contributor in cases his deputies handle. North Dakota teenagers also rank No. 1 in the nation for binge drinking (having more than five drinks on one occasion).

"It's not something to be proud of," Berg said. "We have to turn that around somehow."

According to the Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 1,400 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die annually from alcohol-related injuries, including car crashes.

Marvis Doster, an addiction nurse who has worked at Heartview since 1971, said people don't realize that drinking games can be lethal because people can only ingest so much alcohol before their bodies are overloaded. Rapid alcohol consumption over a short period of time can lead to alcohol poisoning, particularly among novice drinkers who don't know what their bodies can tolerate. Alcohol depresses nerves that control breathing and the gag reflex, which prevents choking. A fatal dose of alcohol can stop these functions and lead to death.

Doster has been there. When she was in college, she had alcohol poisoning after drinking a fifth of vodka while playing a game called Passout. She said people generally see methamphetamine as a major epidemic, when alcohol is much more pervasive and accepted.

"People have no idea that alcohol is a killer," Doster said.

A memorial service for Gailey will be held at 10 a.m. today in the Chapel of Our Lady of Annunciation in the Benedictine Center for Student Life Building. The service is open to the public.

(Reach Deena Winter at 250-8251 or deena.winter@bismarcktribune.com.)