Family of University of Missouri student who died during fraternity trip sues
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The family of a University of Missouri fraternity member who died last year on a group trip to Nashville, Tennessee, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Delta Chi fraternity and its members.
The lawsuit claims the fraternity's MU chapter did not follow its protocols for keeping members safe during the trip to Nashville for a fraternity "formal" event last March.
Strain went missing on March 8, 2024.
He was kicked out of Luke's Bridge 32 bar on Broadway and 3rd Avenue just before 10 p.m. that night. Video surveillance showed him walking through downtown Nashville by himself.
His body was later discovered floating in the Cumberland River on March 22, 2024.
Strain’s autopsy and toxicology report showed that alcohol contributed to his accidental drowning. The Davidson County Medical Examiner's Office revealed in June that Strain had a blood alcohol content of 0.228 -- nearly three times the legal limit to drive. The toxicology tests detected in his system isopropanol (a form of alcohol), caffeine, cotinine, nicotine and THC.
Tennessee authorities concluded that Strain was not overserved at a bar. Nashville police have stated that "no foul-play-related trauma was observed" after Strain’s body was found.
The lawsuit says fraternity rules were supposed to prohibit access by non-members to events where alcohol is served and bar the use of hard liquor at those events.
"It was well-known that at each of these social events, including on the charter bus traveling to the formal, there was prolific consumption of alcohol, much of it above 15% ABV, most, if not all, of that alcohol was provided by Delta Chi or its members," the lawsuit states.
Members made "Jell-o shots" to consume on the trip to Nashville, the lawsuit claims.
"By the time the group reached the final bar of the night, Riley was virtually incoherent," the lawsuit states. "He was leaning against walls to stay upright, stumbling up and down steps, was completely unable to speak or communicate, and needed help."
Strain's fraternity brothers did not accompany him back to the hotel when he was kicked out of a bar and didn't check on him until later, the suit says. After being kicked out of the bar, he was lost, according to the lawsuit's description of events that night.
The fraternity should have stopped this dangerous behavior before it started, the suit says.
Check back for updates to this developing story.
