5 frat members arrested in hazing death of Baruch College student
POCONO SUMMIT, Pa. -- Five members of a fraternity, including the organization's former national president, have been charged in the death of a freshman from New York City's Baruch College during a hazing ritual in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Police said Tuesday they're arresting suspects in waves, moving from least to most culpable, after a grand jury recommended charges for 37 people in the December 2013 death of Chun "Michael" Deng.
Authorities say staggering the arrests will keep courts from being overwhelmed. Former Pi Delta Psi president Andy Meng and four members were charged Tuesday with hazing, conspiracy and hindering apprehension.
Arrests on recommended third-degree murder charges for the fraternity and five others will come later.
Police say fraternity members waited an hour to take Deng to the hospital after he fell unconscious while weighted down and forced to run a gauntlet.
CBS New York reports that Deng was blind-folded, weighted down with a backpack filled with 30 pounds of sand and forced to run a gauntlet during a brutal fraternity ritual called "glass ceiling."
The 19-year-old freshman pledge was knocked unconscious, but police said the fraternity members waited at least an hour before taking him to the hospital with a severe brain injury, contributing to his death.
Police claim the fraternity members changed Deng's clothes and even searched the Internet to diagnose his symptoms. When the students called their national fraternity president, police said he told them to hide all fraternity items.