Parents blame death of Ohio University student on fraternity hazing
The parents of an Ohio University student are blaming a fraternity’s brutal hazing rituals for their son’s death — saying its members forced copious amounts of drugs and alcohol into his system before he fell unconscious.
The parents of Collin L. Wiant, 18, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Sigma Pi fraternity’s Epsilon chapter in Athens County Common Pleas Court last week.
The suit claims the teen was plied by several of his fraternity brothers with nitrous oxide canisters — known as “whippets” — before his death last November, the Athens News reported.
The lawsuit cited a toxicology report — the results of which were not made public — which concluded Wiant died of “asphyxiation due to nitrous oxide ingestion.”
Wiant — who had just pledged the fraternity weeks before, according to CNN — was apparently ready to be tormented by his brothers.
“I know I’m going to get hazed,” he told a friend before heading back to the frat house around 2 a.m. Nov. 12, according to the suit.
Less than an hour later, one of his fraternity brothers called 911 to report Wiant was unresponsive, the Post Athens reported. He was pronounced dead a short time later.
In the hours that followed, the fraternity chapter rushed to hold an “emergency meeting” to initiate the remaining pledges as members of the fraternity and “to close ranks within all fraternity members to make sure they all told the same story concerning the events of earlier that morning,” the lawsuit stated.
“He would be alive today if they hadn’t hazed him,” the family’s lawyer, Rex Elliot, told CNN.
In addition to providing whippets, the fraternity also allegedly deprived Wiant of sleep, beat him with a belt, threw eggs at him, and made him drink a gallon of alcohol in an hour — while forcing him to take drugs like cocaine, marijuana, Adderall and Xanax, the lawsuit claimed. The alleged hazing took place in a room in the fraternity house called the “Fun Room” or the “Education Room,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit accuses Sigma Pi’s Ohio chapter, their international office, and 10 John Does of hazing, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy.
Elliot said Wiant’s parents hope this lawsuit will shield other college students from the dangers of hazing.
“Wade and Kathleen, his parents, want to make sure that this lawsuit prevents other families like theirs from losing 18-year-old college kids to senseless behaviors like this which goes on at college campuses around the country,” Elliot said.
“There’s no place for it in 2019.”
Sigma Pi executive director and CEO Jonathan Frost told The Post in a statement: “We are aware of the tragic passing of Collin Wiant this past November and we continue to extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends. To my knowledge, Sigma Pi International has not been served with a lawsuit involving Mr. Wiant, so we are not able to comment. If we are served with a lawsuit, our attorneys will review and determine the appropriate response.”
Ohio University is investigating the fraternity’s alleged actions, spokesperson Carly Leatherwood told the Post Athens. The university issued a cease and desist order to Sigma Pi’s Epsilon chapter after Wiant’s death.
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