The parents of US college student who died after fraternity hazing event have accused fellow members of treating him "as roadkill and a rag doll".
After joining the Beta Theta Pi (Beta) fraternity at Pennsylvania State University in February, Timothy Piazza, 19, took part in a hazing ritual called “the gauntlet”.
The obstacle course requires contestants to drink approximately five alcoholic drinks in two minutes.
After completing his run, security footage captured Mr Piazza staggering around the fraternity's after party. At one point, he can be seen staggering toward the basement stairs. Out of sight of the cameras, he allegedly fell approximately 15 feet – head first – to the bottom of the flight.
After finding him face-down at the bottom of the steps”, his fraternity brothers carried him upstairs to a couch, where they attempted to rouse him.
Despite his non-responsiveness and a large bruise growing across his abdomen, the brothers allegedly refused to call the emergency services. One young man who suggested calling 911 appeared to have been thrown against a wall by his brothers.
"Everybody was surrounding him, basically laughing and pointing,” one brother, Kordel Davis, told ABC News, adding: “They thought calling for help was just unnecessary."
Left largely unattended, Piazza proceeded to fall several more times throughout the night – once striking his head on an iron railing. One brother can be seen on surveillance footage stepping over Piazza’s unconscious body on his way to get water.
Members of the fraternity did not call 911 until after 10 the next morningaround 15 hours after his first fallwhen they found Piazza unresponsive, rigid, and cold to the touch.
When surgeons began operating, they found his spleen shattered and brain swollen. Doctors said 80 per cent of the student athlete's total blood supply had bled into his abdomen.
He died in the surgical intensive care unit on 4 February. Coroners later testified he had consumed a “life-threatening” amount of alcohol.
"It was horrific,'' Jim Piazza said of his son’s death. "This wasn't boys being boys … They basically treated our son as roadkill and a rag doll."
"Nobody should consume that much alcohol,'' his mother, Evelyn, stated. "That's torture."
Eighteen members of the fraternity are now facing charges ranging from involuntary manslaughter to tampering with evidence in the death of 19-year-old .
The Centre County District Attorney said more than 850 charges had been filed.
Text messages from older fraternity members about the new initiates broadcast their desire to “f**k with them” and “get them f**ked up”, they stated.
Tonight on Nightline, Pennsylvania State University fraternity brother Kordel Davis speaks out on death of Timothy Piazza. pic.twitter.com/5z2a04j2MG
— Nightline (@Nightline)
May 9, 2017
Makes me so upset knowing how he suffered and no one helped him, love you so much tim and you deserved so much better ? https://t.co/3RwjE2fD5J
— Kaitlyn Tempalsky (@kaitlyntempals)
May 5, 2017
Penn State has since banned Beta Theta Pi from campus, announced a “strongly enforced prohibition” on underage drinking, and cancelled rush week for Autumn 2017. Officially known as recruitment week, rush week is the period of time when fraternities and sororities recruit students to their respective Greek letter organizations.
But court documents suggest hazing and underage drinking at Penn State won’t be easy to combat.
Beta publicly represents themselves as a “dry” fraternity, but reports show the Penn State chapter provided alcohol for at least three of their rush week events. Receipts from that time period reveal Beta members spent at least $1,179 (£917) on alcohol in an eight-day span. Party attendees attest the alcohol was readily available to minors.
Despite publicly condemning hazing, Beta members from multiple years told law enforcement their brothers repeatedly hazed them during initiation – including forcing them to run “the gauntlet”. At least one other member was hospitalised as a result of the initiation process in recent years.
Nationwide, more than half of all college students involved in clubs, teams, or other organizations have been hazed. At least one student has died in a hazing-related accident every year since 1970, according to journalist and hazing expert Hank Nuwer. The vast majority of these deaths involve alcohol.
In a statement following Piazza’s death, Penn State called binge drinking on college campuses a “national problem that has been worsening”.
"Penn State initiated aggressive enforcement, education and monitoring measures to address these issues well before the tragic death of Timothy Piazza, and announced additional measures following,” the school stated. “Our actions will continue, and represent our ongoing commitment to drive change in tackling binge drinking at universities."