Autopsy: Man had been drinking before fatal fall on cruise

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – An autopsy shows a man who died after falling on a cruise ship in October had been drinking and plummeted 45 feet (13 metres) down a stairwell.

The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner released its autopsy report for 29-year-old Christopher McGrory on Thursday.

McGrory was airlifted to a West Palm Beach hospital from the Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line’s Grand Classica on Oct. 21.

The Palm Beach Post reports a nurse told investigators McGrory had been “drinking heavily” when he attempted to jump up a stair but lost his balance and fell backward. The autopsy showed his blood alcohol level was 0.256, about three times Florida’s legal limit for declaring a driver impaired.

Brian McGrory of Palm City said his son had been celebrating his bachelor party on the cruise from Palm Beach to the Bahamas.

___

Information from: The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, http://www.pbpost.com