Long Island Man Among 18 Penn State Students Charged In Frat House Death

A Long Island man is one of 18 Penn State University students who have been charged in connection with a student's death at a frat party in February. Daniel Casey, of Ronkonkoma, is among eight students charged with involuntary manslaughter, according to documents provided by the Centre County District Attorney in Pennsylvania

Casey, 19, is also charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and tampering with evidence.

Casey and 17 of his fellow Beta Theta Pi frat brothers are facing the charges in connection with the death of 19-year-old Timothy Piazza, who was intoxicated when he fell down a flight of stairs during a Feb. 2 pledge party. Piazza, of New Jersey, was placed on a couch and medical attention was not summoned until the following morning, police said.

He died two days later from his injuries, which included a collapsed lung, ruptured spleen and traumatic brain injury. Officials have said his death was preventable and that the injuries initially were not life-threatening.

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The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the grand jury investigation revealed Beta Theta Pi pledges were forced to participate in the fraternity's ritual known as “the gauntlet.” During "the gauntlet," pledges had to visit stations that featured various ways to consume alcohol quickly, such as games and chugging.

A fraternity member told the grand jury that some pledges drank as many as five alcoholic drinks in two minutes, the Inquirer report said.

After Piazza died, fraternity members orchestrated a cover up, authorities said. One fraternity brother texted Casey to "make sure the pledges keep quiet about last night and this situation." Casey responded, "They know," according to a PennLive report.

Casey, the fraternity's pledge master, graduated from Connetquot High School in 2015. He appeared in a Pennsylvania court with nine other fraternity members Friday.

Casey's attorney, Steven Trialonas, told Newsday: “The government assumes that these young men, many of whom were intoxicated themselves, should have been able to differentiate symptoms of extreme intoxication from symptoms of a life threatening head injury. That is an impossible burden to place on them.”

Beta Theta Pi brother Kordel Davis, however, said he made repeated pleas for someone to call 911 after Piazza fell down the stairs.

"It just seemed to me that ... they just wanted to make sure that they themselves were safe, rather than Tim truly being safe," Davis told "Good Morning America" Sunday.

Beta Theta Pi has been banned from ever returning to Penn State.

See a photo of Casey here from Philly.com.

MAIN PHOTO: Timothy Piazza died in February after falling at a Penn State frat party.

Kara Seymour contributed to this report.