Parents Of Slain FAMU Band Member Robert Champion Sue Bus Driver And Bus Company

February 14, 2012
News
be the first to comment

ORLANDO, Fla. – The parents of a Florida A&M band member who died after being hazed filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday against the owner and driver of the charter bus where the ritual took place. It also revealed new details about what might have happened the night Robert Champion died.

The suit describes two types of hazing that took place before Champion died on November 19, 2011. During the first, pledges of a band clique known as “Bus C” run from the front to the back of the bus while other band members slap, kick and hit them, the lawsuit said. A pledge who falls can be stomped and dragged to the front of the bus to run again.

In another ritual known as “the hot seat,” a pillow case was placed over the pledge’s nose and mouth while the pledge was forced to answer questions. If a pledge got a right answer, the pillow case was removed briefly; a pledge with a wrong answer was given another question without a chance to take a breath, the lawsuit said.

A fellow pledge who was hazed with Champion said band members on the bus treated Champion more brutally than others, according to the lawsuit.

To read this article in its entirety visit CBS News.