alcohol withdrawal

Most deaths from ethanol withdrawal are ruled accidents because they result unintentionally (“accidentally”) from the physiological effects of abruptly stopping alcohol use, rather than from deliberate self-harm or natural disease alone.

Severe alcohol withdrawal floods the body with stress hormones and causes uncontrolled muscle activity, which dramatically raises core temperature.

In the case of Eric Valencia, that internal heat — combined with the trapped heat inside a locked vehicle — can lead to fatal hyperthermia.