Bradley University soccer player's death an accident, jury rules
<p align="justify">The death of a 19-year-old Bradley University sophomore soccer player was ruled an accident Thursday by a Peoria County Coroner's jury.
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<p align="justify">Sheridan "Danny" Dahlquist died Aug. 12 from carbon monoxide poisoning due to smoke inhalation after a blaze started by fireworks in a prank gone awry ravaged his second-floor bedroom at the West Peoria house he shared with four friends.
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<p align="justify">"… (R)ecords indicate Sheridan was pulseless, unconscious and unresponsive when found and burned extensively," Peoria County Coroner Johnna Ingersoll said during the inquest.
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<p align="justify">Toxicology testing revealed Dahlquist's blood-alcohol content was 0.155 percent, almost twice the state's legal threshold for drunkenness. The state's legal drinking age is 21.
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<p align="justify">Three of Dahlquist's Bradley teammates and roommates - David Crady, 19, Nicholas Mentgen, 21, and Ryan Johnson, 22, - and a friend of the group, Daniel Cox, 20, have been charged with two counts of aggravated arson and one count of possession of an explosive or incendiary device.
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<p align="justify">The charges carry a prison term of up to 30 years. Probation is not an option for the arson charge. Their cases are set for a Nov. 2 review hearing.
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<p align="justify">Authorities said the friends had been drinking, and at some point, Dahlquist went to bed. The quartet then gathered Roman candles, a cylindrical firework, and fired them underneath Dahlquist's closed bedroom door and into his room.
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<p align="justify">After realizing the room had caught fire and Dahlquist had not escaped, his friends tried to save him but were driven away by intense heat and flames.
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<p align="justify">Firefighters called about 4:30 a.m. to the 2008 W. Laura Ave. house found Dahlquist near a window under debris that had fallen from the bedroom ceiling.
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<p align="justify">About 15 minutes passed between the time the fireworks were lit and 911 was called, said Peoria County Sheriff's Lt. Mark Greskoviak, referring to statements from witnesses.
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<p align="justify">Crady, Mentgen and Johnson have been permitted to enroll at the school for the fall semester.
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<p align="justify">The university lists Crady and Mentgen as "inactive members" of the intercollegiate athletic program, while Johnson voluntarily resigned from the Bradley soccer program.
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<p align="center">Leslie Fark can be reached at (309) 686-3188 or lfark@pjstar.com.