Police say a West Virginia University fraternity from Buffalo pledge drank a large amount of alcohol shortly before he died. Morgantown Police Chief Ed Preston said Tuesday that tests showed 18-year-old Nolan Michael Burch's blood alcohol level was 0.493. That's more than six times the legal limit of 0.08 for driving.
Preston says Burch was among 20 pledges who participated in a Kappa Sigma initiation function on Nov. 12, 2014. Each pledge received a bottle of liquor from a senior member or alumnus of the fraternity. Preston says Burch became highly intoxicated.
Officers were later called to the fraternity house for a medical emergency and found someone performing cardio pulmonary resuscitation on Burch. The Buffalo resident later died at a Morgantown hospital.
Preston says prosecutors are reviewing the investigation's findings.
