Deadly Penn State Frat Party Captured On Video, Police Say

It was 9 p.m. on Feb. 2 at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house on the Penn State campus. About a dozen students gathered for a pledge night party. One would not survive.

Timothy Piazza, a 19-year-old sophomore from New Jersey, died Feb. 4 — two days after he fell down a set of stairs about two hours into the party. After the fall, he was placed on a couch. Authorities say no one at the party or in the house called authorities until the next morning — 12 hours after the fall, in which he suffered a collapsed lung, ruptured spleen and traumatic brain injury.

Authorities have said hazing and alcohol likely contributed to the engineering major's death.

More insight into the tragic incident, which the family's attorney has labeled a "brutal, horrible, hazing incident," could be unveiled in videos captured on an "extensive" surveillance system that had been recently installed at the frat house during a renovation, according to a report by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Piazza, a Hunterdon Central Regional High School graduate, had texted his girlfriend just two hours before his fatal 11 p.m. fall indicating he was aware of the nature of the event. "They’re going to get me f---ed up,” he texted, according to an account his family gave to the New York Daily News.

Footage of the tape, which has not been publicly released, will likely not be available until authorities determine if they'll file charges upon completion of the investigation, expected later this month. The fraternity said in legal papers obtained by NBC10 that it provided the video without a warrant, with an understanding that it would be returned.

Piazza's parents say they have yet to see the footage, however, authorities who did view it told them their son got off the couch at one point and appeared to be trying to find a door, but then returned to the couch, according to the Inquirer.

Authorities say when medical attention was eventually summoned the morning after the party, Piazza was alive but unconscious and unresponsive.

"Piazza’s breathing was labored, blood was found on his face and he was unresponsive to paramedics," according to WJAC. Frat members told police Piazza had also gotten sick sometime during the IFC-approved event, according to that report.

Piazza was rushed to Mount Nittany Medical Center by ambulance and later flown to Hershey Medical Center, where he died. His death was "definitely" preventable, State College police have said.

The family has hired Tom Kline, a high-profile Philadelphia lawyer.

“We cannot suitably convey the heartbreak we feel for the family and friends who are grieving the loss of Tim Piazza,” said Damon Sims, Penn State’s vice president for Student Affairs. “The information available to us about the actions that led to Tim’s death is deeply disturbing, and no sanction or restriction the University can levy is equal to the gravity of his death or the circumstances which we believe led to it.”

While a grand jury investigation into the incident continues, the university has revoked recognition of Beta Theta Pi. The university also announced it would halt all fraternity social events in light of Piazza's death.

Meanwhile, family and friends mourn the young athlete who volunteered to teach sports to children with special needs. According to his obituary, he also helped organize Penn State's popular THON fundraiser and enjoyed the beach, jet skiing, playing golf and "taking it to the hoop" in friendly pickup basketball games.

"He was smart, funny, friendly and kind," his family says in his obituary.

Photo: Timothy Piazza's obituary