'Pain Never Goes Away': Parents Sue University After 20-Year-Old Dies In Hazing Incident

Bowling Green, Ohio, -- The parents of a 20-year-old college student in Ohio have filed a lawsuit against the university their son was enrolled in after he died following a hazing incident.

Stone Foltz, from Delaware, was a sophomore at Bowling Green State University when he died due to alcohol poisoning following an initiation event at an off-campus fraternity house in 2021.

Stone was forced to finish an entire bottle of alcohol during a hazing ritual by Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity (PIKE) and was later found unconscious by his roommate. Stone spent almost three days in a coma before he died on March 7, 2021, ABC News reported.

Following the horrific death, the University expelled the fraternity as their investigation found their actions to be "reckless with a disregard for the health and safety."

Three of the accused fraternity members were handed jail terms and two others were placed on house arrest last week after they pleaded guilty to multiple charges in connection with the incident.

Meanwhile, Stone's parents, Cory and Shari Foltz said they are determined to put an end to hazing on college campuses and accused the university of negligence.

"The pain never goes away," Cory told CBS News.

"We promised Stone that we would end hazing on college campuses for good. By filing a complaint against Bowling Green State University, we are doing what is necessary to hold people in power accountable for their woeful inactions to keep students safe and reckless disregard for illegal activity," the parents said.

The lawsuit claimed that Bowling Green turned a blind eye to hazing incidents happening within PIKE which they were aware of since 2019.

Stone's parents also accused the University of endorsing Greek life to the parents and students even after they were reportedly aware of hazing activities.

Meanwhile, Bowling Green stated that they have made efforts to actively enforce the anti-hazing policy.

"Stone Foltz's death was a tragedy and what his family has endured is unimaginable. However, this lawsuit is meritless, ignores that we have actively enforced our anti-hazing policy, and undermines our continued efforts to eradicate hazing. We are resolved in our legal position, and as a state-supported university, we will defend our community vigorously against this action," the university said in a statement.

After Stone's tragic death, Ohio's public universities adopted a "zero-tolerance" policy toward hazing and it is now classified as a felony under the new state law.