Riley Strain's parents are suing his fraternity following his tragic death in Nashville last year. The college student drowned after wandering the city drunk.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Strain ingested a large amount of alcohol prior to his death. Now, Strain's family is suing the fraternity that their son belonged to. Strain was in the city with his frat brothers but separated from them after getting kicked out of Luke Bryan's 32 Bridge Bar.
"After Riley was abandoned, but prior to his death, he experienced conscious pain and suffering," the lawsuit reads. "As a direct and proximate result of defendant's negligence, Riley suffered severe injuries, ultimately resulting in his death on March 22, 2024."
On his walk home from a heavy night's drinking he fell in a river and drowned. However, the family thinks that his frat mates are responsible for not being there for their fellow frat brother. The toxicology report revealed that Riley Strain has been drinking very heavily. The report stated that he had a blood alcohol content of around .228. This is incredibly high and will often result in blackouts and vomiting.
"When a bar kicked Riley out, Riley's fraternity brothers had two options: 1) go with Riley, make sure he was safe, and take care of him; or 2) continue to party. Riley's Delta Chi brothers chose to continue partying," the lawsuit read.
There was talk of Rily Strain being a victim of a date rape drug or poisoned and then dumped in the river. However, this has been debunked by the toxicology report. Also, the water found in his lungs proved he drowned rather than murdered prior to falling into the water.
Family Still Seeks A Payment For The Death of Riley Strain
Riley Strain's parents said they found the behavior of his frat brothers to be suspicious.
"There was no search, no panic, and no one called 911 to report that Riley had failed to make the twelve (12) minute walk back to the hotel in over three hours. The fraternity brothers did not even think to call Riley's parents, they simply got ready for bed and went to sleep," the lawsuit read.
The family found it odd that their son was missing for 12 hours before the frat decided to call the police. They also don't like that even when Riley Strain was missing, they still went out to another party. This, though, doesn't imply guilt by any means. It's just college guys being college guys.
I, personally, went AWOL a number of times during college, especially after a night out. It was usually because I was rotting with a world-ending hangover. In these situations I would go dark, praying nobody spoke to me. I imagine they just suspected it was that, especially with how wasted he got.
But, they're placing the blame on the frat for their son's death. Losing a son must be so difficult, but money isn't going to make it better. While it remains to be seen how the lawsuit shakes out, ultimately Strain was a victim of overdrinking.
