OSU to pay $450,000 in Mirror Lake death
Ohio State University has agreed to pay $450,000 to the family of Austin Singletary, the third-year student who died after participating in the traditional Michiganweek jump into Mirror Lake in 2015.
The amount was detailed in a settlement agreement in the wrongful-death case, filed with the Ohio Court of Claims last week. In the complaint, Singletary’s parents and administrators of his estate, Tracy and Maxton Singletary II, argued that Ohio State’s negligence led to their son’s death and that the university was liable for damages.
Singletary, 22, from Dayton, was pulled from the lake in cardiac arrest the night of the jump. He was treated by paramedics but died later at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center.
The Franklin County coroner ruled Singletary died from accidental trauma to the head and neck caused by diving into shallow water during the Mirror Lake jump on Nov. 25, 2015. He had a blood-alcohol level of 0.18, the coroner said, more than twice the limit at which a person is considered impaired in Ohio.
The wrongful-death claim was officially filed Nov. 21, nearly two years after Singletary’s death. The settlement agreement was filed the same day.
There had been ongoing discussions with the university for some time, said Bill Posey, an attorney for the Singletarys. The lawsuit had to be filed with the Ohio Court of Claims in order for the settlement to come about, he said.
“It’s just a matter of it takes time to get these things into a position to be resolved,” Posey said.
Singletary’s parents agreed to discharge Ohio State, the state of Ohio and their employees and students from any liability for Singletary’s death.
“They’re people of faith,” Posey said of Singletary’s family. “They get through it, but obviously it’s a tremendous loss.”
Ohio State also will install a bench in Singletary’s honor at “a mutually agreeable location” to be paid for by the Singletarys. Ohio State has the right to review and approve the bench and its design and location prior to its installation.
“They wanted a memorial on campus to the death of their son,” Posey said. “Austin loved Ohio State.”
“The university’s sympathy continues to be with Austin’s family and friends over his passing,” Ohio State spokesman Chris Davey said in an emailed statement. “This was a heartbreaking tragedy.”
The university never sanctioned the jump, which dated back to at least 1990 and brought thousands of students to Mirror Lake on the Tuesday of Michigan week.
After Singletary’s death, Ohio State’s undergraduate student government voted to support the university’s decision to forbid future jumps.
Ohio State is in the process of overhauling its Mirror Lake district. The project will add more vegetation surrounding the lake and a mechanism allowing the lake to be emptied in about 60 minutes. The project is slated to be finished in the spring.