A prank gone wrong led to a tragic outcome when a man was taken to the hospital and later succumbed to his injuries.
Among friends, pranks are a common occurrence. Sometimes they aim to make someone look a bit foolish, and other times they are intended to cause significant embarrassment. However, this particular prank had an undesired and devastating outcome.
Conner Groom, a 22-year-old from Britain, passed away following an incident involving himself and his friends at Topgolf in Chigwell, Essex.
Groom was attending a work Christmas party in December 2021, and a recent inquest into his death has provided more details.
The inquest, which took place in Chelmsford in May 2024, disclosed that the group had been ‘drinking heavily’ after traveling by coach from Weeley, near Clacton-on-Sea, to the golf venue on December 21.
They arrived at around 7 pm and consumed alcohol at the bar before proceeding to their booth on the second floor of the two-story venue an hour later.
The inquest heard how the group had been ‘having a laugh’ by pushing each other into the safety net at the end of the golfing bays.
Despite repeated warnings from staff to stop ‘messing around,’ Groom had already been pushed into the netting twice and had also pushed one of his friends into it.
Shortly after 10 pm, Groom was about to take a shot at the driving range when one of his friends informed another of his intention to push Groom into the netting again.
Ben Gardner, the friend, then ran from behind after the shot, causing Groom to fall over the safety net and plummet about 12 feet.
It is believed that his leg got caught in the netting, causing Groom to fall face first to the ground below with ‘no control whatsoever over how he landed’.
Dion McKenzie, the security guard on site, testified that Groom’s friend rushed down the stairs, repeatedly saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” as Groom lay on the floor with blood coming from his nose.
Groom was taken to the Royal London Hospital that night but unfortunately passed away on January 25, 2022.
The cause of death was cited as hypoxic brain injury due to traumatic spinal cord injury, according to a Mail Online report.
Ben Gardner was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm without intent, but the charges were later dropped.
Essex senior coroner Lincoln Brookes concluded that Groom died as a result of a misadventure stemming from ‘inebriated but not malicious horseplay’.