The family of a University of Alabama student who drowned in the Black Warrior River in April 2012 has filed a $10 million wrongful death lawsuit days before Alabama’s statute of limitations would have prevented them from doing so.
Charles Jones is the father of Tre Jones, a 20-year-old University of Alabama student who fell into the river during a sorority’s party on the Bama Belle riverboat in April 2012. He filed the lawsuit Friday and wants $10 million for his son’s death, claiming that several parties should be held responsible for it.
Charles Jones alleges that several people were tasked with making sure no underage passengers drank alcohol that night but failed to keep his son from doing so. He also complains that not enough was done to try to save Tre as soon as he fell in the water. According to the lawsuit, a deckhand saw the man fall overboard and struggle on the surface of the river, but boat officials made no effort to stop immediately and attempt to rescue him. Divers found his body in deep water around 3 p.m. the following day.
According to the complaint, an autopsy indicated the student’s cause of death was drowning and acute alcohol intoxication, and a toxicology report showed his blood alcohol content to be .133 g/100 ml.
Included in the defendants Charles Jones named in the lawsuit are the Tuskaloosa Riverboat Company, who owned and operated the Bama Belle at the time; Stand Alone Security, a local company hired to keep the party safe and prevent minors from drinking on the boat; and the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, who hosted the riverboat party.
Jones claims that those parties failed to prevent his son from drinking and getting drunk, failed to supervise him and keep him from falling overboard, failed to rescue him and failed to notify authorities of his plight in a timely manner.