Eight more arraigned in death at Penn State

911 call made hours after pledge falls

Eight more members of a nowdisbanded Penn State fraternity were arraigned Tuesday, raising to 18 the number of Beta Theta Pi brothers and pledges criminally charged following the death of a pledge who fell down a flight of steps after a night of drinking.

Among those arraigned was Ryan McCann, a senior who called 911 about 12 hours after Timothy Piazza fell — and after googling “binge drinking ” and “bruising or discoloration, cold feet and cold hands,” authorities say.

Details from the call, made at 10:48 a.m. on Feb. 3, were released Monday. McCann sounds calm as he tells the dispatcher “we have a friend who’s unconscious. He’s ... probably going to need an ambulance.” McCann acknowledged that drinking was involved but did not mention the fall. Piazza died the next day.

McCann is charged with one count of tampering with evidence, accused of attempting to clean up Piazza before emergency responders arrived. Several students face more serious charges, including involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault.

The judge set bail at $50,000 for the eight arraigned Tuesday. Ten other defendants were arraigned on Friday.

Piazza died as a “direct result of the extremely reckless conduct of members of the Beta fraternity,” aided by the permissive atmosphere fostered by Penn State’s Interfraternity Council, the grand jury found.