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Pledge of Chico local dies after 'water hazing'
Chi Tau pledge dies
Becky Regan
News Editor
February 02, 2005
A Chi Tau pledge died about 5 a.m. today after he collapsed during a pledge event, Chico police said.
"It doesn't appear that alcohol played any part in his death," Sgt. Dave Barrow said.
Barrow said 21-year-old Matthew William Carrington was participating in a pledge event that involved physical activity and drinking large quantities of water.
Carrington's cause of death has not been identified, and his medical history is unknown. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.
Some cases of water intoxication can cause brain tissues to swell, which may lead to a seizure, coma or death, according to About.com.
Chi Tau member Corey Williams said Carrington's pledge brother woke up everyone in the house when he discovered Carrington was not breathing.
"I woke up to his pledge brother banging on the door saying 'he's not breathing'," Williams said.
Williams was not in the basement when Carrington died, but he said paramedics told him Carrington had a seizure and choked on his tongue. Blood was coming out of Carrington’s ears.
Williams said the pledges had been cleaning the house and participating in fraternity events on Tuesday, but no alcohol was involved. The pledges were sleeping in the basement.
Williams said Carrington's pledge brother told him that he awoke when he heard Carrington making unusual snoring sounds. When the pledge brother realized something wasn’t right, he started to perform CPR on Carrington.
"His pledge brother actually had him in his arms when he stopped breathing," Williams said.
Chi Tau president Ken Dandy said the fraternity has not been able to contact Carrington’s pledge brother since this morning.
Dandy also said no fraternity members know if Carrington has any medical condition that might have caused a seizure.
"We have no idea what the cause of death might be," Dandy said. "Matt was one of the coolest people I’ve met in Chico."
(Doug Case was first with this story)
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