Toddler mistakenly served alcohol at California restaurant
By Zoe Hunt
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SALINAS, California (KSBW) — A Hollister family is urging parents to be cautious after their 2-year-old daughter was mistakenly served alcohol at a Salinas restaurant, resulting in a trip to the emergency room.
The family was at a large family dinner at a local Salinas restaurant, Fujiyama Japanese Restaurant, when their 2-year-old daughter was mistakenly served alcohol, resulting in a night at the emergency room.
The parents ordered apple juice for their daughter’s drink, but it was not until their daughter started showing signs of intoxication that they realized the juice cup she had been drinking had house-made cooking wine inside.
It was then served inside a normal juice cup with a lid. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until later, when the toddler’s behavior became alarming.
The parents immediately noticed something was wrong and smelled the drink themselves, realizing it was wine.
“She was swaying, she was falling over, she was leaning on walls, she couldn’t hold her head up, she was slurring her words,” mom Noemi Valencia said.
The parents spent the night at Salinas Valley ER. They said a blood test revealed an alcohol level of 0.12% in their daughter’s system.
They hope the restaurant has learned from the mistake.
KSBW 8 spoke to the manager of the restaurant who said it was a mistake. The wine was being stored inside a large container labeled “apple juice” when their server made the mistake.
Salinas police did confirm with KSBW 8 that there was a police report filed on Aug. 17, 2024, for the incident and that they are looking into the matter.
“Take proper precautions and how you store things or label things properly so that this doesn’t happen to anybody else,” Valencia said.
The little girl has since sobered up and fully recovered.
Her parents are grateful the situation wasn’t worse and urge other parents to taste what is served to their children.
“Parents: taste what’s served to your kids,” they said.
The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control gave the following statement:
“The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is aware of the reports and is working with local authorities to investigate.”
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