SDSU, FRATERNITY, OTHERS SUED IN DEATH OF PLEDGE

The father of Dylan Hernandez, the San Diego State University freshman who died following a night of heavy drinking at Phi Gamma Delta, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in San Diego County Superior Court that accuses the school of negligence.

The lawsuit names nearly 20 other defendants, including SDSU; the school’s president, Adela de la Torre; the California State University system; the fraternity Hernandez was joining; individual fraternity members, and the company that made Hernandez’s dorm bed.

In November 2019, Hernandez, a 19-year-old Floridian, returned to his dorm after drinking at Phi Gamma Delta and later fell out of the bunk bed, cracking his head in what turned out to be a fatal injury.

The lawsuit alleges that the accident followed a night of partying at the fraternity where “Dylan and his fellow

pledges were blind folded, taken upstairs, screamed at, threatened, and hit. Then, one by one, the pledges were walked downstairs blindfolded into a room full of members to learn who their “big brother” and “family” would be.

“Each underage pledge was again screamed at and demeaned, beaten with paddles and hands, and forced to consume shots of Vodka and Rum to the point of intoxication. Dylan and his fellow pledges became visibly and extremely intoxicated.

“By 10:00 p.m., Dylan’s speech was slurred, he could not walk on his own, he had stumbled and fallen several times, he had become ill, and he did not even have the mental or physical ability to use his own cell phone,” the lawsuit states.

SDSU said in a statement on Wednesday night: “The University has not seen the lawsuit and is not able to provide any comment at this time.”

The university has said little publicly about Hernandez’s death. But an investigation conducted by campus police says that Hernandez’s blood-alcohol level was 0.23 percent when he left the frat party. A person cannot legally operate a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher.

The lawsuit claims that the negligence and misconduct of many led to Hernandez’s death.

Specifically, the lawsuit says that other members of Phi Gamma Delta were negligent when they encouraged Hernandez and others to drink in excess and then failed to call for help when it was clear Hernandez was extremely drunk. The suit also alleges that the university and the company that owned the fraternity’s chapter house were negligent when they failed to take substantial action against the fraternity.

There were other failings, the lawsuit contends.

The manufacturer of Hernandez’s bed allegedly didn’t put warning labels on the bunk beds informing students of the possible hazards. The national fraternity organization allegedly didn’t do enough to rein in bad behavior exhibited by San Diego State’s chapter.

The national headquarters of Phi Gamma Delta shut down the SDSU chapter earlier this year.

“As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ negligence and misconduct, Dylan died,” the lawsuit reads.

The Hernandez family had demanded a jury trial and is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.