A 12-year-old boy was rushed to hospital following a family outing at an Outback Steakhouse in Michigan.
As reported by PEOPLE, young Mekyle Cureton started to feel unexpected symptoms when his typical virgin strawberry daiquiri order took a questionable turn. "It didn't taste normal," he shared with Fox affiliate WJBK, noting that his "heart started beating as I was drinking it."
The family revealed that they often visit the Livonia-based establishment a couple of times a month
With his family not accustomed to drinking alcoholic beverages, they were left unsure about the contents of the beverage.
"We don't drink, so we couldn't tell whether there was alcohol in it or not," the boy's grandmother said. "After that, he started letting us know that his heart was kind of racing."
Quick to address the issue, they alerted their server, who promptly confirmed their suspicions: there had been a mix-up.
While Outback Steakhouse extended apologies and comped the meal, the incident took a more serious turn as young Mekyle found himself in the hospital after the booze started to take effect. Diagnosed with accidental alcohol exposure and ingestion, the ordeal left him feeling worse for wear, even experiencing his first hangover the following day.
The youngster was provided with Tylenol and ordered to rest.
His grandmother admitted: "I didn't want him to have to have an alcoholic experience this way."
"We take this situation very seriously and are thankful that the child involved was not seriously harmed," expressed an Outback Steakhouse spokesperson in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
In the aftermath, the restaurant chain has taken swift action, implementing retraining measures for all staff to prevent such mishaps in the future.
