Editorial: Hosts, adults should know they have a responsibility for minors’, guests’ safety

The death of a McAllen Rowe student should remind us all that people who host parties and other events should do what they can to ensure the safety of their guests, and that adults particularly need to supervise the activities of people who are under the legal age of responsibility.

Adan De La Cruz, a senior at the school and three-year letterman on the football team, was injured Sunday afternoon at a private party. His death was reported Wednesday.

We offer our deepest condolences to his family and all those involved.

Full details of the accident haven’t been released, but video has been posted to at least one social media platform. It appears that De La Cruz was on the roof of a gazebo and might have been planning to jump from there into a backyard pool when he fell and struck his head on the ground.

Such a tragedy is terrible for everyone who hosted or attended the party. But legal, and criminal, issues can compound the matter for some of those involved.

Three people, two of them who like De La Cruz are under the legal drinking age, have been charged with providing alcohol to a minor. The death could aggravate the charges or lead to new ones.

Police reports indicate that people who attended the party paid a fee. It’s a common practice that helps hosts pay for food, drinks and sometimes entertainment and other expenses. Once allowed entrance the guests reportedly had free access to food and drinks there, including alcohol. Those facing charges allegedly planned the party or collected the money.

Hosts at many such parties like to give their guests free rein, and trust them to take care of themselves. Alcohol consumption, however, can affect a person’s ability to act responsibility and hosts should take responsibility for their guests’ safety, especially when they drink alcohol.

That accountability can be more important with regard to minors. Legal age limits are set for many activities, including alcohol consumption, for people who are deemed too young to reliably make the best decisions. Thus, hosts could be held liable if they knowingly or negligently provide alcohol to someone who already is intoxicated is or under the legal age.

Fortunately, most gatherings of this kind go on without incident. Everybody gets home safely and no one gets hurt. Tragic accidents such as this incident are rare, but enough Rio Grande Valley residents have been arrested for driving under the influence or involved in accidents on their way home from parties to rank this area among the state’s worst in those categories.

Regardless of how well people know or how much they trust people they host at their homes or festive events, they should monitor the conditions of the people and environment, and do what they can to restrict underage guests’ access to alcohol, and encourage others to stop drinking or avoid driving if they begin showing signs of impairment.

Let us let De La Cruz’s tragic death build a legacy of a new commitment from people who host, and even those who attend, such gatherings to take more responsibility for the welfare of our family, friends and fellow guests — not solely because of any legal liability, but also because we care about each other.