Parents of sophomore student, 19, share heartbreaking new details about how he died in hazing incident
The parents of a sophomore student who tragically died in a hazing incident have spoken out about his death.
Timothy Piazza was just 19-years-old when he died while taking part in a series of initiation challenges - known as hazing - in order to be accepted into a college fraternity at The Pennsylvania State University, more commonly known as Penn State.
Timothy was pledging to become part of the Beta Thea Pi on February 2, 2017, when he tragically suffered a series of injuries.
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He took part in 'the gauntlet', which involved him attempting to down a 'handle' of vodka, which holds 1.75 litres of the spirit.
He then drank beer and red wine on top of that.
While intoxicated, Timothy fell down 15 stairs to a basement and was later captured on CCTV being carried back upstairs by fellow students.
It's reported that some students poured liquid on him, while others slapped him on the face.
He was then laid on the sofa but woke again later. Timothy was so disorientated that he collapsed again while attempting to crawl.
He also vomited in his sleep, but the others did not ring for the emergency services.
They instead Googled the symptoms of head injuries before he was finally taken to hospital the next day.
Timothy was rushed into surgery with a ruptured spleen and hemorrhagic shock, but sadly died in hospital.
In a new documentary, Houses of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life, his parents Jim and Evelyn Piazza have issued a warning to college students and parents about the dangers of hazing.
They've also spoken about what happened to Timothy, explaining how he would never have imagined that nobody would help him when he needed it most.
"I can't imagine Tim would have ever thought that he would be entering a room of chaos like that, and be put in harm's way, and that no one would care if he was in need of help," Timothy's father, Jim, told the DailyMail.com.
"That's not the type of guy he was. I mean, if somebody needed help, he would get them help.
"... We want people to know that the laws have been changed in a number of states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey in Tim's name, that will make it a felony if someone dies or experiences severe bodily injury [from hazing]."
Jim urged students to call 911 if they see someone in a similar state to his son, after he was told that Timothy would have survived if he was taken to hospital earlier.
He urged: "If somebody does need help, you're not a doctor. Don't question it. Call for help.
"If you feel uncomfortable calling for help in front of the rest of the organization, walk outside and call for help. Do it anonymously. It's all fine."
Lucy Devine