Mother of a Bethune-Cookman University student has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school and Lamar D. Bryant, former coordinator of Greek Life, in the Volusia County Circuit Court for allegedly failing to prevent fraternity hazing that ultimately led to the death of her son Marcus A. Thomas, a sophomore on a marching band scholarship.
Thomas' death occurred Feb. 2012, when his car hit a utility pole in Daytona Beach. Thomas' mother claims that members of the Pi Gamma chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America were involved in hazing her son, the car's driver and other pledges that resulted in sleep deprivation. The car's driver fell asleep, leading to the fatal crash. Everyone else in the car escaped unhurt.
The lawsuit, which also names the national fraternity as one of the defendants, asserts that the university and Bryant who had previous knowledge about the hazing activities, did not discipline either the fraternity or its members, completely disregarding the anti-hazing policy.
According to the lawsuit, the hazing took place frequently on and off campus, requiring pledges to burn the midnight oil to study fraternity history and facts. The night prior to the crash, Thomas along with four other pledges had to memorize fraternity history until 4:00 a.m. on Feb. 9, 2012, before being called to participate in a quiz that was conducted till 8:00 a.m.
They fell asleep while driving home and crashed into the utility pole. A police investigation revealed that lack of sleep might have caused the crash.
The lawsuit also lists Marcus Allen as a defendant. He hosted the fraternity's quiz at his apartment. Thomas' mother is seeking more than $15,000 in damages.
Benjamin Bedard, an attorney for Phi Mu Alpha said that the fraternity denies the allegations and says that it is not responsible for Thomas' death.
"Based upon the information gathered about this accident, hazing was not involved. It is an unfortunate accident, and it is our understanding that the driver of the vehicle fell asleep. Students have been staying up all night to study last minute for quizzes and exams since quizzes and exams have existed," Bedard said.
Bethune Cookman officials siad that Thomas was not wearing his seat belt at the time of the accident.
"The University had no role in this unfortunate car accident. It fully expects the University will be found to have no fault in the civil case. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the family and friends of Marcus Thomas."
