Parents of dead student sue Clemson
University, fraternity
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[March 31, 2015]
By Harriet McLeod
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - The parents
of a 19-year-old Clemson University student who died last year after
falling from a highway bridge during a pre-dawn fraternity run sued the
university, the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and three of its members
for $50 million on Monday.
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Tucker Hipps' body was found by police last September beneath a
highway bridge over a lake near the Clemson, South Carolina campus
when he didn't return from the run with other fraternity pledges.
The two civil suits, which seek $25 million each, allege that Hipps
died as a result of a confrontation with a fraternity member over
breakfast food he was told to bring that morning.
Hipps sent a text message that he didn't have enough money for the
order of "30 McDonald's biscuits, 30 McDonald's hash browns and two
gallons of chocolate milk," but a fraternity brother confronted him
on the bridge over the order, court records show.
Hipps then went over the railing of the bridge into shallow water in
Lake Hartwell head first, the lawsuits said, adding that a
fraternity member shone a flashlight into the dark water below but
took no further action to locate the student.
Clemson University, Sigma Phi Epsilon, and the fraternity members
could not be immediately reached for comment. It was not clear
whether the defendants had retained attorneys.
A spokeswoman for the university told the Greenville News that the
school was aware of the legal action, but would not comment on
pending litigation.
The suits said the fraternity had a long tradition of "requiring,
pressuring, encouraging and forcing" pledge members to jump off
bridges over the lake and swim to shore.
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Hipps was not under the influence of any substances, according to a
toxicology report. He died of blunt force trauma from a head-first
fall onto rocks in shallow water, a coroner's report showed.
The lawsuits contend his death was caused by the gross negligence
and recklessness of the defendants, including two other fraternity
members who had organized the run.
Hipps' death sparked rampant speculation at the time by students on
social media that hazing was involved, but police said a preliminary
investigation did not indicate a role for hazing.
The Oconee County Sheriff's Office said this month its case remained
open.
The university suspended all activities of its 24 fraternities
shortly after Hipps' body was found.
(Editing by Curtis Skinner)
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