Texas Cheerleader's Family Sues Energy Drink Distributor Over Teen's Caffeine Death

Larissa Nicole Rodriguez was a varsity cheerleader, student council president, and college-bound senior who planned to study law at the University of Texas at Austin. On or about October 20, 2025, she drank at least one Alani Nu Energy Drink purchased at an H-E-B store in Weslaco, Texas. She suffered a fatal cardiac event shortly after. She was 17 years old.

The parents of Larissa Rodriguez have now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against energy drink distributor Glazer's Beer and Beverage LLC, the company that supplied Alani Nu products to the H-E-B where Rodriguez made her purchase. The suit was filed in Hidalgo County District Court and seeks more than $1 million in damages.

The family's attorney said Rodriguez had no pre-existing heart problems and that "the only thing she had in her system was caffeine." The Hidalgo County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death was "cardiomyopathy caused by excessive caffeine consumption." Cardiomyopathy can cause the heart to struggle to pump blood, which can culminate in heart failure.

According to the lawsuit, Glazer's failed to warn consumers that Alani Nu Energy Drinks contain 200 mg of caffeine per 12-ounce can, which exceeds the recommended daily intake of 100 mg of caffeine for adolescents. The lawsuit states that the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the American College of Sports Medicine have all unequivocally stated that energy drinks have no place in the diet of children and adolescents.

"This is a heartbreaking and entirely preventable tragedy," said Benny Agosto Jr., a managing partner at the law firm Abraham Watkins, who is representing the family. Agosto told reporters at a news conference on the steps of the Hidalgo County Courthouse that Alani Nu energy drinks, which Rodriguez drank often, "had inadequate warnings about the serious cardiac risks that this product brings."

The lawsuit notably does not name Alani Nu Energy Drinks as a defendant. Glazer's, the sole named defendant, opened a massive new distribution center in Weslaco in 2024, the same year Rodriguez, then serving as "Miss Texas Onion Fest," participated in the company's ribbon-cutting event on behalf of the Weslaco Chamber of Commerce.

Agosto described Rodriguez as "full of life, full of love, smart, academic and with a bright future," adding that she played tennis and was an active student. She was the student council president at Weslaco High School and had aspirations to become a lawyer. The irony that her family is now fighting that legal battle in her name is not lost on those who knew her.