Blood alcohol content placed at .426
By: Nick Norlen
LAWRENCE The death of Rider University student Gary DeVercelly was the result of alcohol intoxication, the Mercer County prosecutor’s office said Monday.
Mr. DeVercelly, an 18-year-old freshman at Rider University in Lawrence Township, died 10:50 a.m. March 30 at Capital Health System’s Fuld Campus, according to Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office.
The student was admitted to the hospital Thursday after heavy drinking, Ms. DeBlasio said.
An autopsy conducted Saturday at the Mercer County Morgue by Mercer County Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Daksha Shah listed Mr. DeVercelly’s blood alcohol content as .426, Ms. DeBlasio said. Motorists are considered legally drunk in New Jersey if their blood alcohol level is .08.
The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lawrence Township Police Department are investigating the possibility that the incident was the result of a hazing at a Rider’s Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.
Ms. DeBlasio said interviews have been conducted with members of the fraternity, but said that no charges have been filed.
Lawrence police were dispatched to the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity house at Rider’s Lawrence campus at 1:52 a.m. Thursday for a report of an individual who was vomiting from drinking alcohol and needed to go to the hospital, according to a statement released by the Prosecutor’s Office.
Mr. DeVercelly, of Long Beach, Calif., was transported to Capital Health System’s Fuld Campus, where he was listed in critical condition until the time of his death.
A second university student who had left the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity house earlier in the evening was also taken to the hospital and treated for alcohol poisoning. He has since been released.
Rider University President Mordechai Rozanski issued a statement calling Mr. DeVercelly’s death "tragic."
"I know I speak for the entire Rider community when I extend my heartfelt sympathy to Gary’s family," he said in the statement.
A memorial service for Mr. DeVercelly was held Saturday in Rider’s Gill Chapel. Approximately 400 students, faculty, staff, family and friends attended, university spokesman Earle Rommel said. Mr. Rommel said the university is "cooperating fully with the investigation."
He said he is not aware of any other alcohol-related incidents at the Phi Kappa Tau this year.
Lawrence Ledger Managing Editor John Dunphy and Staff Writer Lea Kahn contributed to this story.