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Metal drinking straw fatally impales woman through eye, brain after fall

Posted at 3:52 PM, Jul 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-10 15:52:55-04

BOURNEMOUTH, England – A 60-year-old woman died when she fell on a metal drinking straw, impaling her eye and brain, according to USA Today.

Elena Struthers-Gardner was walking through her kitchen, drink in hand, when she reportedly collapsed. During the fall, the 10-inch stainless-steel straw entered her left eye socket and punctured her brain, USA Today reported.

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A coroner said Struthers-Gardner was discovered on the floor by her wife, Mandy. Mandy reportedly said it wasn’t until she turned Struthers-Gardner over that she knew what had happened.

The coroner warned reusable, eco-friendly metal straws should never be used in a way that fixes them in place; Struthers-Gardner’s straw had been fixed in a screw-top lid on a mason jar.