WILBERFORCE — A lawsuit has been filed against a local university after a student’s death.
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News Center 7’s Xavier Hershovitz breaks down what a family claims happened to their daughter LIVE on News Center 7 Daybreak from 4:25 a.m. until 7 a.m.
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Savanna Jones’ family says that their daughter died because of an alcohol hazing ritual at Wilberforce University, according to a previous report.
The family is now suing the university over her on-campus death in April.
In the new lawsuit filed in Greene County, the family’s lawyer said Jones died because she was hazed on campus.
The court document states Jones was going through initiation with “a social drinking club” known as “the turtles” on a campus where alcohol is not allowed.
Jones was required to drink a bottle of liquor that night as a part of a ritual called “crossing turtles,” the lawsuit states.
It alleges that “she became visibly and dangerously intoxicated to the point that she could not stand.”
Her family’s lawyer writes that she was carried back to her dorm room across campus, where she was left and where she died hours later.
“This was a hazing death. There is no question about it,” said Rex Elliott, a Columbus-based lawyer representing her family. “It’s something they’ll live with forever. It’s a hole that will never go away from them. Again, they have incredibly strong faith, but they are devastated over the loss of their daughter.”
News Center 7 contacted Wilberforce University on Tuesday.
They said they are reviewing the request.
We have not heard back.
We will continue to follow this story.
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