Rutgers parent says dangerous frat house led to student’s critical injury

A parent of a Rutgers University student who lived at the fraternity house where a 19-year-old was critically injured says the tragedy was rooted in years of housing neglect — not hazing, as some have speculated.

The parent, who asked not to be named to protect her son’s privacy, described a chaotic and traumatic night at the off-campus residence at 106 College Ave.

In an interview with NJ Advance Media, she said her son and other fraternity brothers were gathered at the house when a student was electrocuted after coming into contact with exposed wiring in the basement.

“My son feels awful for this,” she said. “All of the boys do.”

According to her account, a group of students were listening to music in the dark when the incident occurred.

The injured student either leaned back or stepped into live wires, according to the mother.

Another student who attempted to pull him away was also shocked, she said.

The fraternity members initially called 911 but, fearing a delay, drove the injured student to the hospital themselves, she added.

The mother said she didn’t learn what had happened until the next morning — after her son and roughly two dozen other fraternity members were taken to the police station and held overnight.

Their phones were confiscated, she added, and her son has since been using borrowed devices to contact her.

She emphasized that, while pledges were present, she does not believe hazing was involved.

Instead, she pointed to longstanding concerns about the house’s condition.

“That house has been in disrepair for years,” she said.

Inspection records obtained by NJ Advance Media confirm that the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity house at 106 College Ave. had been plagued by serious safety violations.

The property — managed by CLVEN, the national housing arm of Alpha Sigma Phi — was formally declared uninhabitable just days after the incident, following a string of failed inspections and a $10,000 fine issued earlier this year.

In September, just weeks before the incident, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs rescinded the property’s certificate of inspection.

A follow-up report found at least 19 violations still open, including obstructed exits, non-functioning fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, and areas inspectors were unable to access.

The student who was injured has not yet been publicly identified.

The incident has prompted investigations by police and Rutgers, and the fraternity has been suspended.

The national organization said it is conducting its own investigation and pledged to permanently expel any member found to have participated in hazing.

There has been no official report of hazing at the frat house. Rutgers officials and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office have not commented further since initial reports of the incident.

Requests for comment from Alpha Sigma Phi, the Rutgers Alumni Association and CLVEN were not immediately returned.

Despite fraternity members being barred from living in the house since the incident, the parent said she received a rent reminder for the upcoming month and that no one has offered her son permanent alternative housing.

“This house has concerned me,” she said. “I’ve tried to get him to look for other housing because it was clearly unsafe. What happened could’ve happened to anyone.”