Pledging Accident

BALTIMORE, Md.--A sophomore fraternity pledge at Towson State University died last month while allegedly fulfilling a pledging requirement, after a car he was driving ran off an expressway near the campus and turned over.

Victor M. Siegel, of Baltimore, was killed in the accident, and two passengers were injured, one seriously, a university spokesman said.

The three men had been returning from a trip to gather signatures of fraternity alumni as one requirement for joining Alpha Omega Lambda, a local group that was recently forbidden to use campus facilities after the university had received complaints about alleged hazing by its members.

The early morning accident occurred during "Hell Week," in which the fraternity's pledges were allegedly deprived of sleep. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported recently.

The three students, who reportedly had not been drinking that evening, were fulfilling another pledging requirement by wearing costumes. Siegel was dressed as a playboy bunny, and his passengers as a boxer and a skindiver.