Young Man Dies After Best Friend’s Prank Goes Devastatingly Wrong

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A young British man lost his life after a prank by his best friend ended in devastating circumstances.

Conner Groom, from Clacton-on-Sea in the UK, was only 22 years old when he died five weeks after attending a work’s Christmas party.

An inquest into Groom’s death heard that he had attended the party at Topgolf in Chigwell, Essex, in December 2021 when the fatal incident occurred, according to the BBC.

Groom had been part of a group from a bricklaying company who had been ‘drinking heavily’ after making the coach journey from Weeley, near Clacton-on-Sea, to the driving range.

The group arrived at around 7pm. and spent time drinking at the bar before being escorted to the first floor of the two-story venue roughly an hour later.

Horseplay escalates at Topgolf

The hearing was told the group had been ‘having a laugh and a joke’ by shoving one another into the safety netting positioned at the edge of the golfing bays.

Detective Inspector Lydia George said employees had repeatedly warned the party to stop ‘messing around.’

According to George, Groom had already been pushed into the safety net twice before the fatal incident, and moments earlier had himself pushed another friend.

She explained that at 10.08pm, Groom was preparing to take a shot when one of his friends told another member of the group he intended to push him.

The unnamed friend then came ‘running from behind’ Groom and shoved him moments after he struck the golf ball.

The court heard Groom went over the safety netting and plunged approximately 12 feet onto the driving range below, landing face-first.

It was reported that his foot briefly became caught in the netting during the fall, leaving him with ‘no control whatsoever over how he landed.’

Friend repeatedly apologized after the fall

Security guard Dion McKenzie told the hearing that Groom’s friend ran downstairs immediately afterward and repeatedly said: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” while Groom lay on the ground bleeding from his nose.

The Clacton-on-Sea man was rushed to the Royal London Hospital later that evening, but he died on January 25, 2022.

MailOnline reported that his proposed cause of death was a hypoxic brain injury caused by traumatic spinal cord injury.

Groom’s friend was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm without intent, although the charge was later dropped.

Coroner rules death was misadventure

Essex senior coroner Lincoln Brookes concluded that Groom died as the result of a misadventure caused by ‘inebriated but not malicious horseplay.’

He said: “I entirely accept this was due to good spirits and there was nothing malicious.”

Brookes stated that alcohol had ‘severely impacted’ the judgment of Groom’s friend, while Groom’s parents were not in favor of pursuing a prosecution.

The hearing was told: “They believed that Conner would not have wanted to support any action over him as they are good friends.”

Graham Jarvisat, health and safety officer at Epping Forest District Council, also told the inquest that Topgolf had strengthened staff training surrounding potential health and safety risks following the incident.

The venue has since introduced updated warning signage as well as a stricter ‘zero tolerance’ approach toward anyone pushing others into the safety netting.

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