2 teens dead, 2 severely sick after drinking racing fuel and cola mix

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Two Tennessee teens died after drinking a mixture of racing fuel and Mountain Dew, and two others were sickened by the mixture they called "Dewshine," Tennessee Poison Center Medical Director Donna Seger said Wednesday. The teens evidently thought they could drink poisonous methanol as a substitute for ethanol, the ingredient in alcoholic beverages that causes intoxication, Seger said. "That was their intent," she said. "Unfortunately methanol is extremely toxic." The U.S. National Library of Medicine, on its website, calls methanol "a nondrinking type of alcohol used for industrial and automotive purposes," noting it can be found in antifreeze, canned heating sources, paint thinner, and octane boosters. It's sometimes called "wood alcohol."