Cal State Fresno Sued Over Frat Hazing Death

CBC-5, 4/17/07

Associated Press

The family of a student who died at a fraternity house after a weekend of drinking is suing Cal State Fresno and the fraternity for wrongful death.

19-year-old Danny Ray Daniels was found dead in his bed at the Phi Gamma Delta house last year.

According to a coroner's report, he had a blood-alcohol level four times the legal limit at the time of his death.

His parents—Cassandra Daniels and Danny Daniels—are seeking unspecified compensation in a wrongful death lawsuit filed
in Fresno County Superior Court on Friday.

They claim their son was induced or forced to drink what was described in the suit as "massive quantities of alcohol" as part of fraternity hazing.

The Daniels also say Fresno State did not do enough to prevent hazing and drinking at fraternities.

Fresno State officials say the university could not immediately comment because they hadn't seen a copy of the lawsuit.

A phone call to Phi Gamma Delta's Kentucky-based headquarters was not immediately returned.