NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A toxicology report for Riley Strain showed his blood alcohol level was nearly triple the legal limit.
Strain, 22, was a University of Missouri senior who disappeared after a night out with friends in downtown Nashville on March 8. The university recently recognized him during the graduation proceedings.
Surveillance video and body-cam footage were released detailing the night, as well as a statement from Luke Bryan's bar. The bar claimed they only ever sold him one alcoholic beverage and two glasses of water. He went missing after he was asked to leave Luke Bryan's bar on Lower Broadway.
The report showed Strain's blood alcohol level was .228. He also had traces of Delta 9 in his system. Delta 9 is a legal form of THC that is readily available in Tennessee.
Cameras tracked Strain's movements around downtown Nashville, but no cameras pinpointed him being on the banks of the Cumberland or caught his fall.
His autopsy revealed that Strain's death was accidental.
Metro Nashville Police Department issued a comment on the medical examiner's findings:
The Riley Strain autopsy report released today by the Medical Examiner, which found that the 22-year-old died as the result of accidental drowning and ethyl alcohol intoxication, corroborates the findings of the investigation conducted by MNPD missing person detectives. The police department is now officially classifying Strain’s death as accidental.
The MNPD’s investigation found that Strain consumed multiple alcoholic drinks at different establishments after arriving in Nashville with friends on March 8. The investigation found that he had become separated from his friends and was noticeably impaired as he walked onto Gay Street adjacent to the Cumberland River on the night of March 8. Detectives have concluded that Strain, who was unfamiliar with Gay Street and the steep embankment leading to the river, did not realize the terrain conditions in the darkness as he stepped toward the overgrown area and fell down the embankment into the water. Due to recent rain, the river was very high that night with a swift current. Strain’s body was found in the river in West Nashville on the morning of March 22 several miles from Gay Street. The MNPD continues to extend its heartfelt condolences to Riley Strain’s family and friends.
