Sigma Chi’s fraternity brothers allegedly struck a pledge in their car as part of the Hayes ritual, which the University of Central Florida is currently investigating, according to an incident report obtained by the Orlando Sentinel late Wednesday.
A sorority member, whose house is sitting next to Sigma Chi, told the police that she heard her scream, seeing the car hit the young man and hearing someone scream “Help me!” And “My bones, my bones, they’re broken,” the report said.
UCF confirmed Friday that it is investigating the haze allegations in Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon. Both have been suspended by the university and its national organizations while the investigation is underway.
The report provided some details on how UCF police ended at Sigmachee House early on February 24th.
Around 3am that day, a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, known as the UCF Police Station, was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. She heard screaming and reported that she saw a grey Kia car attack someone from Sigma Chi’s house. According to the report, it drives about 10 to 15 miles per hour.
She reported seeing several men wearing white shirts and polos along with khaki pants. Other sorority residents later told police that “one of the boys was attacked by a car.”
The detective assigned to the lawsuit in the report said, “It is said that the Sigma Chi brothers forced new members to stand in front of the car while members of the organization attack them in their cars.”
Police interviewed three Sigmachee brothers. The Sigmachee brothers said no one was attacked or injured by the car and they were playing basketball just before police arrived. One officer explained that his best friend’s brother was “evasive” when questioned.
Kia, who matches the witness’s explanation, attempted to leave the area she was driving with her headlights off, but police stopped the car. It is unknown what police found when they stopped the vehicle.
Officers also checked at the fraternity home and local hospitals, but they did not find any victims they thought were related to the Sigma Chi incident, the report said.
Both the Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon’s Hazing incidents remain open Wednesday evening, UCF spokesman Courtney Gilmartin said.
In a statement sent via Instagram on Tuesday evening, Sigma Chi said it could not comment on the ongoing investigation. They did not respond to follow-up questions about the hit-and-run allegation Wednesday evening.
“We are committed to working with the University and UCF PD during this process to resolve any actions and misconceptions,” the fraternity statement read.
Sigma Chi is a recurring criminal at UCF, and has been suspended eight times between 2015 and 2020, including four outages in 2019 only. One of these 2019 cases included allegations that the fraternity blindfolded the pledge and forced him to use cocaine.
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In a statement in an email Monday, Gilmartin said both fraternities were placed in “interim halt.”
Gilmartin said the university praised those who moved forward to report the incident.
“UCF explicitly condemns Hayes in all forms and we are committed to retaining individuals and organizations responsible for actions that threaten the safety and well-being of students and others,” she said.
The fraternity national organisation did not respond to a request for comment Monday. However, Gilmartin said the national organization has suspended the UCF chapter.
Delta Upsilon’s international executive director Justin Kirk said in a statement Monday that the organization has placed its own separate halts on the UCF Delta Upsilon branch. A temporary suspension of investigations is temporary and means that all activities must be stopped. It can last up to 60 days.
