Cheerios4606 wrote:

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So much of this story is about the charges, and so little of this tells what exactly happened. All I got was that he fell. But how? Down stairs? Out the window? Off a trampoline? I mean really?

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My thoughts exactly.  Very poor journalism. 

I know what to do_sometimes wrote:

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He fell down the basement stairs. The brothers tried to cover it up. Wouldn't let someone call for help

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 Twice, once the night before and once the next morning. Several comments were made that he needed help, due to the fall and the amount of alcohol he consumed, but were ignored. They noticed a large bruise on his abdomen the night before and ignored it. When they found him the next morning at the bottom of the stairs they carried him up and waited almost an hour before calling an ambulance- text history proves during that time they were Google searching his symptoms. When they made the call they didn't mention the falls at all- so paramedics didn't know what to look for.

Text history also shows them covering their butts and talking about what kind of trouble they could get into.

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

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They were all probably as drunk as he was. However, I don't think there is a legal duty to help someone. One would hope that they would remember they are human beings and render aid. And, they could probably find the person who purchased the alcohol and charge him.

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 But there is...in certain circumstances:

The Legal Duty to Rescue Someone Else

In general, there is no legal requirement in the United States to help and rescue someone else who is in danger. This would typically apply even in extreme situations where a bystander sees a small child who has wandered into the street or a man who has fallen onto the train tracks. There are some exceptions to this rule. Ten states have limited rules that may require you to help a crime victim if you can do so without danger or peril to yourself or to others (California, Florida, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Minnesota, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.) In certain scenarios, the law may impose a duty upon you to help rescues someone else who is in danger. Those situations are generally as follows:

• Special Relationships and Circumstances

  You may have a duty to rescue someone as a result of a special relationship that exists between you and the person in danger, such as between a teacher and a student.

• You Created the Danger

  If your own negligence creates a danger to another person and causes that person to require rescuing, you will usually be found to have a legal duty to rescue the person in danger.

• You Began to Rescue

  If you begin to rescue a person in peril, you may have a legal duty to finish your attempt. The court usually applies a reasonableness standard. If you began a rescue and then stopped, the court may find that you may have a duty to continue if a reasonable person would have done so under the circumstances.

I would say that the second example applies here.  They CREATED the danger.  They had a legal duty to rescue him.  Not to mention they lied and withheld information to the paramedics, information that could have saved his life... 

These stories make me sad, too. Haven't college kids learned anything, from similar accidental deaths in the past?

I think it's terrible that there are still some kids, that think drinking yourself stupid is a good time.

I also think it's awful, that no one called for help after he fell.

And I really have to wonder...when did personal responsibility go out the window? No one forced those drinks down his throat. Why didn't he have the good sense to stop after a couple of beers? IMHO, he was just as responsible for his own death, as those other young man who were charged. Sadly, he's dead. What a harsh punishment for being stupid.