Prairie View A&M University disbands fraternity after hazing-related death
Dallas Morning News
April 22, 2010
Prairie View A&M officials have disbanded the local chapter of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity for a string of violations of school hazing rules and state law that ended in the death of 20-year-old Donnie Wade Jr. of Dallas in October.
The report, e-mailed earlier this month to Phi Beta Sigma's Delta Theta chapter by Prairie View's student activities office, said the university found the fraternity also tried to cover up circumstances surrounding Wade's death during an intense physical training session Oct. 20.
Fraternity members "instructed aspirants to deny that any member of the fraternity was present" during the early-morning workout at nearby Hempstead High School, the report stated.
An autopsy found that Wade, who collapsed during the exercise drill, died because of a rare medical syndrome that can be triggered by strenuous exertion. The Harris County medical examiner ruled Wade's death was attributed to "acute exertional rhabdomyolysis," a syndrome linked to sudden deaths of military recruits and athletes.
Kevin Kelley, the Dallas attorney representing Wade's family in a lawsuit against the fraternity and its pledge trainer, Marvin Jackson, said the university's findings "confirm our independent investigation that but for the hazing acts of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., Donnie Wade would still be alive."