A once aspiring footballer from Eringden, Tamworth sadly lost his battle with his alcohol addiction after he collapsed in a street and later died in hospital. Joe Olner,31 was discovered in a street close to his home and was only wearing jogging bottoms an inquest heard.
The 31 year old ''lost soul'' had drunk a significant amount of alcohol before he passed away from hypothermia on January 19, 2021 after a by passer came across him in lying in the street. His inquest that took place at South Staffordshire Coroner's Court told how Joe had become passionate about football as a young boy, Stoke Sentinel reports.
After leaving school early at 16, he had mainly been employed as a labourer but had experimented with different jobs over the years. However, his alcohol addiction made it difficult for him to maintain his jobs as his drinking would always later become an issue which would make him undependable.
The family of Mr Olner, from Tamworth, said he was drinking from the age of 16 or 17. He was a promising footballer "but chose the drink".
They said: "He was drinking quick to get drunk from getting up in the morning and drinking to top it up during the day." He was also barely eating.
The family added: "He became a lost soul in the end, he was a really nice boy before he had a drink." The family had tried to get him help and to detox from the drink.
Mr Olner developed health problems, including seizures. He struggled with his memory and had deep vein thrombosis, meaning it was painful for him to walk.
He was given just months to live but he continued to drink. He also had hallucinations, was paranoid and self-conscious, the inquest heard.
His sister told the inquest how she had taken him to his dad's the day before his death and at that time he had taken no alcohol or drugs, and she had taken him back home. Mr Olner was found in the street in Crossfell the following morning, January 19, 2021, by people going to work wearing only a pair of joggers.
He was struggling to get up and had scratches that were bleeding, red marks and bruising. He was described as finding it difficult to breathe and one said he kept trying to say something.
Emergency services were called to the scene. Mr Olner went into cardiac arrest and later died at the Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham. Pathology reports found he had 207mg of alcohol in 100 millitres of blood which means it would have been higher when he died, around 320mg, the hearing was told. The legal limit for driving is 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.
Forensic pathologist Dr Alexander Kolar said there were 81 individual and groups of injuries found on Mr Olner, adding "a number of which were concerning" but there was no evidence these played a role in his death. He said Mr Olner died from hypothermia, which can often lead to people removing their clothes as they feel hot.
Officers from Staffordshire Police looked at the CCTV footage around Mr Olner's flat and showed that at around 8pm he was fully clothed. His mum arrived at around 9pm and later left. He was seen in the corridor at around 1.30am and at around 3am he appeared to be locked out at the main entrance.
He was seen stumbling in some of the surrounding streets at around 4am. Coroner Sukhdev Garcha said Mr Olner died from hypothermia and recorded a verdict that he died from natural causes. He passed on his condolences to his family.
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