FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The pledge master for a fraternity at Northern Arizona University was indicted Friday on a felony hazing charge involving a student who died in late January after a night of drinking at a rush event.
The hazing charge alleges Carter Eslick caused or forced the drinking that led to the death of 18-year-old Colin Daniel Martinez on Jan. 31 at an off-campus house.
Martinez was found unresponsive at the home by police after bystanders performed CPR on him. He died at the scene.
An autopsy found Martinez died of alcohol poisoning and had a level of 0.425% — more than five times the state’s legal limit for drivers 21 and over. The state has a zero-tolerance policy for anyone under 21 who is driving under the influence of alcohol.
“The loss of a young person is always a tragedy,” Coconino County Attorney Ammon Barker said in a statement.
Josh Blumenrich, an attorney representing Eslick, didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
In a statement, the university said the death has “shaken our entire community” and noted that Eslick is no longer enrolled there.
Two other members of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity were arrested along with Eslick after Martinez’s death, but the charge filed on Friday was only against Eslick.
Prosecutors declined to say whether they will ask a grand jury to charge the other two fraternity members.
Martinez was among four people who were candidates for the fraternity and shared two bottles of vodka to ensure they vomited, according to court documents. Some witnesses said the bottles might have been diluted with water.
Witnesses reported readjusting his sleeping position, checking his pulse and breathing, and looking up symptoms of alcohol poisoning throughout the night, the documents said.
After Martinez died, the university suspended the fraternity. The national organization later voted to shutter the NAU chapter.
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