A food delivery driver in the US on a student visa has been busted for selling alcohol to a 16-year-old girl who then drowned in a swimming pool, according to police.
Manoj Chitta, 24, was arrested after the unidentified teen was found unresponsive in a pool in Prattville, Alabama on Wednesday night, with the girl dying in a local hospital two days later.
“An investigation … determined that the juvenile had consumed a substantial amount of alcohol prior to entering the swimming pool,” local officials said.
“Investigators developed information indicating that the alcohol had been delivered to the juvenile by Manoj Chitta, who is in the country on a student visa and working as a delivery driver for a food delivery service,” the city of Prattville said.
It was unclear which delivery service Chitta was working for, but he had taken his chats with her outside of the app’s platform, police said.
The investigation further revealed that “Chitta failed to verify the juvenile’s age prior to delivering the alcoholic beverage,” police said, without detailing exactly what she had drunk nor how much
Chitta was charged with criminally negligent homicide and selling alcohol to a minor. He was booked at the Autauga County Jail.