'She was so bubbly and such a talented dancer': Girl, 14, dies at a sleepover and three friends fall ill after 'drinking vodka and soda'
- Takeimi Rao was found dead and had vomited, police said
- Sleepover friends said she drank only a 'few sips'
- Drinking alcohol was 'completely out of character'
- She had been an 'outstanding student' and popular
- Distraught mother 'blames herself'
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Authorities believe a 14-year-old northern California girl may have died after drinking vodka mixed with soda during a weekend sleepover.
Police said paramedics found Takeimi Rao dead on her bedroom floor at around 9am on Sunday.
She had hosted a sleepover on Saturday night at the family's exclusive gated Santa Rosa home for three of her friends.
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Tragic: Takeimi Rao, 14, was found dead on her bedroom floor after a sleepover
Popular: Takeimi, right, pictured here with friend Danielle Codding, who was not at the sleepover, was a popular girl and had been an 'outstanding student'
Unusual: Danielle Codding said it was completely out of character for Takeimi to be drinking alcoho
All four of them had become ill and vomited several times during the night, but had blamed the sickness on the hamburgers they ate for dinner.
Sonoma County Sheriff's Lieutenant Steve Brown said Takeimi's mother Aleae Pennette woke up during the night and saw the girls throwing up.
She had cleaned them up and put them back to bed.
Tragic: 14-year-old Takeimi was found unresponsive on the floor of her bedroom at her Santa Rosa home on Sunday morning
Sleepover: Authorities said Takeimi died and three of her friends became ill after drinking what was believed to be vodka and soda
But the next morning when Ms Pennette and her partner Scott Moyer went to wake her daughter she was unresponsive and had vomited, according to assistant Sonoma County Sheriff Lorenzo Dueñas.
Paramedics were called and Takeimi was pronounced dead at the scene.
The parents of the three other girls were told to take them to the hospital for a check-up.
The three girls told authorities that Takeimi had mixed soda and vodka into a water bottle and they had passed it around, but had not liked the taste, Mr Dueñas said.
At least one of the girls told police Takeimi had only taken a few sips of the drink.
'At this point we are looking at it as an accident,' Mr Dueñas told Press Democrat.
Ms Pennette is said to be distraught and feels 'responsible' for what happened, according to the mother of one of her daughter's friends.
Angie Williams of Santa Rosa, said: 'It makes us all think, what parent doesn’t have old alcohol sitting in our cupboards?
'Takeimi is a good girl and Aleae is such a good mom.'
Takeimi had just graduated from Rincon Valley Middle School. The principle, Matt Marshall, called her an 'outstanding student'.
One of Takeimi's closest friends, Danielle Codding, 14, had been in church when she heard the news about her death.
Danielle, who had been invited to the sleepover but was not able to go, said drinking alcohol was completely out of character for her friend.
'She's never done that before,' Danielle said. 'And she was one of those people that told me to listen.
'She was always watching over me and making sure I was making the right choices.'
Danielle had been at Mt Gilead Bible Camp in Sebastopol with Takeimi, according to her mother Michaela.
One of Takeimi's classmates, Spencer Metela, said she had been a gifted singer and dancer. 'She had to dance and she was very good at it,' he told the Press Democrat.
'She was talkative, always very nice to everyone. She had a lot of friends.'
A Facebook memorial group had today attracted 1,197 people.
Alyssa Moore, who had known Takeimi from drama classes, wrote: 'You were so bubbly and such a talented dancer. You were very sweet and you will be missed. RIP.'
Jessie Apodaca wrote: 'Nobody this young and beautiful should have passed away. Hopefully this will all teach us a lesson. Somebody should have been there to prevent it.'
The results of an autopsy, carried out yesterday, were inconclusive and toxicology results could take several weeks.
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