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Death Of Student Allegedly ‘Forced To Drink An Entire Handle Of Whiskey’ Determined To Be An ‘Accident’

REUTERS/Megan Jelinger

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The autopsy report on an Ohio college sophomore who died in early March following an alleged fraternity hazing ritual has determined the death was an “accident,” Wednesday reports show.

Stone Foltz, 20, died of “fatal ethanol intoxication” March 7, three days after being allegedly forced to drink an entire bottle of whiskey during a Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity ritual at Bowling Green State University, ABC News reported.

“It is my opinion that Stone Foltz died of fatal ethanol intoxication during hazing incident,” the Lucas County coroner Dr. Diane Scala-Barnett wrote in the autopsy report, according to WCMH-TV. “Manner of death: Accident – College fraternity induction ritual.”

His family’s attorneys reacted strongly to the fact that his death was ruled an “accident” in a statement obtained by the outlet.

“Without question, he died as a result of a college fraternity induction ritual,” the statement reads. “The statement that his death was accidental—without any witness interviews or evidence about Stone being forced to drink an entire handle of whiskey—has no value and doesn’t impact anything criminally.” (RELATED: Fraternity Shut Down, Under Investigation Over Death Of 19-Year-Old Student)

“Stone’s death at the hands of fraternity members hazing him and other pledges was both deliberate and reckless and we will not stop until justice is done and this type of behavior never occurs again on a college campus in this country,” Stone’s family attorneys added, according to WCMH-TV.

Foltz’s death has revived the attempts to legally address the issue of hazing in the state. “Let us resolve that Ohio will become a hazing-free state,” Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine wrote in a tweet from March 9.

A group of GOP senators introduced a new version of anti-hazing legislation known as Collin’s Law on March 24, WTOL reported. The bill’s previous versions have stalled in the Ohio Senate.