A young man was seriously injured at Sam’s To Go in Isla Vista on Thursday night after he passed out while smoking a hookah.

Witnesses reported seeing an unidentified man fall backwards off the bench he was sitting on and strike his head on the cement. The man lost consciousness, went into convulsions and began vomiting. Rescue 7 Ambulance responded to the incident around 6:50 p.m. Emergency response personnel treated the man for a contusion sustained on his face during the fall with a compress, and carried him from the scene on a stretcher. The current condition of the man was unknown at press time. Neither Goleta Valley nor Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital could confirm they had admitted the patient, due to confidentiality laws.

The owner of Sam’s To Go, who refused to give his name, said an unidentified man entered the Sam’s To Go patio area and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs when he arrived.

The owner said the man was smoking a hookah while sitting at a table on the patio area when he passed out. He said the man fell from the bench and struck his head on the cement behind him. The blow to his head rendered the man unconscious, the owner said.

“When he hit his head he went into seizure,” the owner said. “When he regained consciousness he started to vomit everywhere. He had a cut on his forehead and kept going in and out of consciousness. Blender’s called 9-1-1.”

Blenders In The Grass employee Adam Robinson, a fourth-year film studies major, said he called 9-1-1 when the injured man went into convulsions.

“He was taking a hit [from the hookah] when he fell on the ground. The hookah fell either on his head or on the ground right next to him.”

Robinson said emergency response vehicles arrived within five minutes of his call.