WASHINGTON – Danny Reardon could have lived.
His father, Daniel P. Reardon, 62, believed it as he lay on the hospital floor next to his son’s bedside for seven nights, praying for a miracle. He believed it at his son’s funeral. He believes it even now, as he stands over his son’s modest grave, adorned with silver hearts, outside St. Columba’s Church every Sunday, leaving wildflowers for Danny, who died on Valentine’s Day in 2002 after succumbing to an alcohol-induced coma.
But he kept his belief inside. He didn’t speak out about how he thought his son’s friends were scared – of losing their housing, of getting expelled from the university, of criminal punishment. He never said he believed that if only they hadn’t been too scared to call for help, his son would be alive.
“I don’t believe that this was a simple matter of good luck or bad luck,” Reardon said. “I feel that the university’s policy towards alcohol and drug use had a direct role in Danny’s death.”
So after seven years of hearing story after story about students dying from alcohol abuse, after driving hours to comfort complete strangers whose son had died from alcohol poisoning at the University of Delaware, the elder Reardon, a dentist from Washington, decided to do more than just believe. Reardon decided to speak out, to try to prevent other parents from experiencing the “devastating loss of a child.”
Since last month, Reardon has been advocating for a Good Samaritan policy at both the state and university levels, trying to free students from a fear of punishment many say overrides the instinct to call for help to save a friend who has overdosed on drugs or alcohol.
“Every single one of [the fraternity members] had cell phones in their pockets; any one of them could have chosen to make a call for help,” he said. “But they didn’t because they were afraid.”
Reardon’s nightmare began seven years ago in a university fraternity lounge when his son, a 19-year-old freshman letters and sciences major, was participating in a pledging activity in which he and his fellow pledges passed around a half gallon of Jim Beam whiskey as they sat in a circle sharing stories.
Danny passed out at around 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2002. Six fraternity members moved him to a sofa, checked his pulse, and took turns watching over him, according to a lawsuit later filed against the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. Early the next morning, Danny stopped breathing.
Around 5:30 a.m., the elder Reardon awoke to a call from University Police informing him his son was in Washington Adventist Hospital, brain dead. Danny died six days later.
Last month, Reardon recounted this sobering story to a group of state legislators, who were considering a Good Samaritan bill that would provide legal amnesty to both the victim and the caller in a situation where a person who overdosed on either drugs or alcohol needed medical help. The bill was ultimately approved by the House of Delegates, but because no equivalent bill was proposed by the Senate, it has not been made into state law.
Reardon also wrote a two-page letter to the University Senate – the campus’ most powerful legislative body that directly advises university President Dan Mote on school policy – urging them to approve a similar medical amnesty policy.
He said it was the least he could do.
“If a policy like this had been in place, the result of that night would have absolutely been different,” Reardon said. “When [Danny’s younger brother] went the next day to collect some of Danny’s personal effects, some of the fraternity members told him they were afraid to call [authorities].”
The proposed university policy has faced intense contention at this university, despite what Reardon calls “the cultural phenomenon” of binge drinking on college campuses that, he said, influences students such as Danny to drink alcohol to excess. The only state with a Good Samaritan law is New Mexico, though many universities have adopted similar measures.
Last year, the University Senate considered a Good Samaritan policy but ultimately balked because, officials said, it didn’t effectively show how instating a medical amnesty policy would directly benefit this university. But this year, a report assembled by a committee created to look at the issue has addressed many of those concerns. The report recommends a policy that would protect both the student whose condition merited a 911 call and the caller from being sanctioned by the university for the possession or consumption of alcohol. Though the policy does not address drug abuse and has no power over University Police enforcement, students say it will make a big difference.
The report includes nearly 60 pages of testimony and evidence – including a copy of Reardon’s letter – attesting to student support and citing how similar policies have been effective elsewhere, including Cornell University.
Kevin Tervala, an undergraduate student senator who served on the committee, said he sees students resist calling for help constantly, for fear of the potential repercussions, which can range from receiving a warning to getting a citation akin to a speeding ticket to getting kicked out of university housing.
“Recently, I was in my dorm when I heard a person screaming,” Tervala said. “A boy who was obviously drunk had hit his head on something and was gushing blood everywhere. People were running around, trying to decide what to do – considering their options. Other people in the room who had been drinking left to avoid getting in trouble.”
Reardon noted that typically students aren’t able to assess how serious a situation might be. Having a Good Samaritan policy, he said, would allow them to call in professionals.
“The average person does not have the ability to assess breathing, heart rate, pulse or alcohol content,” Reardon said. “By making a phone call, they don’t have to make the decision or worry about whether they’ll get in trouble or not. Anyone with a cell phone can be a first responder nowadays – that’s why having a policy like this is so important.”
University Senate Chair Ken Holum said he hopes to see the University Senate take on the Good Samaritan proposal later this month during the last meeting of the year, but if they do not vote on it the measure could be dragged on until the fall.
“We’re really, really, really hoping that we’ll be able to put this on the agenda,” Holum said. “This issue needs to be discussed and finally resolved.”
Though Reardon no longer has a direct stake in the university, he hopes his story will help convince some critics of the proposed amnesty policy to change their minds.
“I understand administrators who feel that if you create harsh laws you will be able to discourage this kind of behavior,” he said. “But that hasn’t worked. I slept on the floor of the [intensive care unit] with my son for seven nights, and I just don’t want to see another parent have to go through that. … The university has an obligation to protect its students.”
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