STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The death of Timothy Piazza, a Penn State sophomore who suffered traumatic injuries in a fall down a set of basement stairs at a fraternity house, was “definitely” preventable, Lt. Keith Robb of the borough’s police department said Wednesday.
Police and the Centre County District Attorney are continuing to investigate the incident and may press criminal charges against members of the fraternity, Robb said.
While Piazza’s death was ruled accidental on Tuesday, criminal charges could be filed if there is evidence of reckless endangerment, according to attorney Stewart Eisenberg of Eisenberg Rothweiler in Philadelphia, a personal injury law firm. The fact that nearly 12 hours elapsed before an ambulance was called means there are grounds for a civil suit, Eisenberg said.
Piazza, 19, a lifelong resident of Readington Township in Hunterdon County, fell down a set of basement stairs at the Alpha Upsilon chapter house of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at 11 p.m. on Feb. 2.
Cops: Ambulance called hours after student fell down stairs
Members of the fraternity, where Piazza was pledging, took him upstairs, but waited until Friday morning to call for an ambulance, Robb said. Police were notified at 10:49 a.m.
Piazza was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College before being flown to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, where he was pronounced dead on Saturday morning. The medical examiner said he sustained “multiple traumatic injuries from a fall,” adding that Piazza had been intoxicated, according to a report on fox43.com.
“One of the messages we’re trying to send as a police department in a college town is our priority is to save lives,” Robb said. “Any minor infraction will be overlooked” and people will be “given immunity” if they call for help, Robb said. “I guess that message didn’t get across.”
Failure to provide medical attention is “morally wrong,” but is not a criminal act unless there was “reckless endangerment” involved, Robb said.
“His chances for survival would have been a lot greater if they had called an ambulance sooner,” Robb said.
Eisenberg pointed to a 1999 case in which a Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that the Good Samaritan doctrine could be applied to a homeowner. Under the doctrine, a person is not held liable for causing additional injury if they act reasonably in providing help.
In making its ruling, the court allowed a trial to go ahead to decide if a Bucks County man was negligent because he did not get his intoxicated neighbor medical help after the neighbor fell in his basement after a party. The neighbor had to undergo brain surgery for a subdural hematoma and had permanent brain damage. The neighbor’s wife was represented by Eisenberg’s law firm.
He said case law demonstrates those at the fraternity would be expected to have gotten Piazza help by calling an ambulance or taking him to a hospital or emergency room in a timely matter.
“This is a tragedy,” Eisenberg said. “My thoughts go out to the family … whose son was not treated appropriately.”
Eisenberg’s statements were echoed by Robb. “It wasn’t like he fell and sat there for 12 hours,” he said. Piazza was found at the bottom of the stairs “almost immediately after he fell,” Robb said.
“They were having a fraternity event” that involved alcohol, Robb said. “They brought him upstairs. They claimed they were watching him. He was with the residents of the house for the whole night.”
Asked if Piazza ever woke up after the fall, Robb said, “These are details that are still under investigation.”
Police are reviewing a surveillance video expected to shed light on what happened after the fall, Robb said.
As for what will happen to the fraternity, Robb said that’s up to the university’s Intra-Fraternal Council to decide.
The fraternity has suspended operations, according to a statement released on Monday afternoon.
A funeral liturgy will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 390 Route 523 in Whitehouse Station, according to his obituary. A viewing will be held 4-8 p.m. on Friday at the church.
Ben Horowitz contributed to this report.
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