The wrongful death lawsuit – filed by the parents of Savanna Jones, 18, a Wilberforce band member who died in April 30 – alleges that Wilberforce administrators and residence hall employees failed to stop the “widely known” campus group from conducting dangerous “crossings,” or initiations, that involved drinking alcohol despite the fact that the campus is supposed to be “dry.”
“Had Wilberforce actively enforced its policies and reasonably supervised its residential spaces, Turtle crossings and hazing-related activities would never have occurred in a campus dorm room,” the lawsuit states. “And Savanna Jones would never have died.”
Jones – who had indicated she was “lowkey scared” to do the alcohol-based initiation – later became “visibly and dangerously intoxicated to the point that she could not stand,” the lawsuit alleges. The ritual required prospective members of Turtles to drink a shot of liquor if they correctly answered various questions and riddles but had to drink two shots and move to the end of the line if they answered wrongly, the lawsuit states.
“Students understood that drinking was the price of entry,” the lawsuit states. “Students who could not continue drinking, vomited, or became unable to drink were considered unable to complete the process and could not become Turtles.”
The lawsuit further alleges that rather than render help when Jones became severely intoxicated, students began to circulate a photograph of her passed out on a bed.
“Savanna was later left in her dorm room in a state of severe intoxication, after being carried across campus without any apparent intervention by Wilberforce residence-life personnel, resident assistants, or campus safety,” the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
