Family of student who died sues fraternity, alleges hazing

ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — The family of an Ohio college student who died after pledging a fraternity is accusing the fraternity of extensive physical and mental hazing.

A lawsuit filed Thursday in Athens County Court says Ohio University student Collin Wiant was beaten with a belt, pelted with eggs, deprived of sleep and forced to take drugs and drink a gallon of alcohol in an hour.

The suit, seeking at least $25,000, names both the local chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity and the fraternity's Lebanon, Tennessee-based national office.

The lawsuit says the 18-year-old freshman from Dublin died Nov. 12, 2018, of asphyxiation due to ingestion of nitrous oxide provided to and forced on Wiant by fraternity members.