Current:Home > MyFraternity and bar sued over 2021 death of University of New Hampshire student-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Fraternity and bar sued over 2021 death of University of New Hampshire student
View Date:2024-12-23 19:30:27
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The mother of a University of New Hampshire student who died in an icy swamp two years ago filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday against the Durham bar and fraternity her son visited that night.
Vincenzo Lirosi, 22, was found dead Dec. 5, 2021, partially submerged in a small body of water in the woods. An autopsy concluded the sophomore’s cause of death was drowning and acute intoxication.
Robin Lirosi, of Whitman, Massachusetts, filed the lawsuit against Scorpion’s Bar & Grill, the UNH chapter of Sigma Chi and its national organization, and several individual members of the fraternity.
“Scorpion’s, the frat, and the frat brothers have gone on with life as if nothing has changed, but Vinny’s family have been robbed of that luxury,” attorney Leah Cole Durst said in a statement.
The lawsuit alleges the bar served Vincenzo Lirosi “in a matter that was so continuous and excessive” that it created a risk of death, and that the fraternity violated numerous safety policies and its duty to prevent further harm.
The executive director of Sigma Chi’s national office did not respond to a phone message Thursday. No one answered the phone at Scorpion’s Bar & Grill, and there was no response to a message sent to the bar’s Facebook account.
At the time of Lirosi’s death, police said he had been out drinking with friends before he went to a Sigma Chi fraternity party and got into a fight.
Citing a New Hampshire Liquor Commission investigation, the lawsuit states that Lirosi purchased 17 alcoholic drinks at the bar and grill in less than four hours and that he consumed at least nine of them. According to the lawsuit, a friend then invited him to the fraternity, though the fraternity said at the time that he did not have permission to be there.
Lirosi resisted efforts by fraternity members to remove him, according to the lawsuit. A “full-out brawl” ensued, and Lirosi was punched in the head, pushed to the ground and kicked in the ribs, the lawsuit states.
“Lirosi was forced to stumble into the woods, visibly intoxicated, battered, and dazed from repeated blows to his head and body without a phone,” the lawsuit states, “and no person from Sigma Chi took any steps to ensure his safety.”
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Armie Hammer Says His Mom Gifted Him a Vasectomy for His 38th Birthday
- Love Is Blind's Chris Fox Reveals Why He Gave Johnie Maraist a Second Chance
- 'Wait Wait' for September 30, 2023: Live in LA with Bob and Erin Odenkirk!
- Duane 'Keffe D' Davis indicted on murder charge for Tupac Shakur 1996 shooting
- Mississippi governor intent on income tax cut even if states receive less federal money
- How Former Nickelodeon Star Madisyn Shipman Is Reclaiming Her Sexuality With Playboy
- Jared Goff fires back at Ryan Fitzpatrick over 'Poor Man's Matt Ryan' comment
- Republicans begin impeachment inquiry against Biden, Teachers on TikTok: 5 Things podcast
- Vikings' Camryn Bynum celebrates game-winning interception with Raygun dance
- 6 miners killed, 15 trapped underground in collapse of a gold mine in Zimbabwe, state media reports
Ranking
- USMNT Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal Leg 1 vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV, rosters
- Mauricio Umansky's Latest Update on Kyle Richards Marriage Troubles Will Give RHOBH Fans Hope
- Browns TE David Njoku questionable for Ravens game after sustaining burn injuries
- Get to Know Travis Kelce and His Dating History Before He Met Taylor Swift
- Gisele Bündchen Makes First Major Appearance Since Pregnancy
- When Kula needed water to stop wildfire, it got a trickle. Many other US cities are also vulnerable
- 73-year-old adventurer, Air Force specialists set skydiving record over New Mexico
- DA: Officers justified in shooting, killing woman who fired at them
Recommendation
-
Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly are expecting their first child together
-
UAW targets more Ford and GM plants as union expands autoworker strike
-
What is Sukkot? And when is it? All your 'Jewish Thanksgiving' questions, answered
-
Mets-Marlins ninth-inning suspension sets up potential nightmare scenario for MLB
-
Deommodore Lenoir contract details: 49ers ink DB to $92 million extension
-
Why Kendall Jenner Is Scared to Have Kids
-
A Baltimore man is charged in the fatal shooting of an off-duty sheriff’s deputy, police say
-
'Surreal': Michigan man wins $8.75 million in Lotto 47 state lottery game