After 'Catastrophic Emergency,' WVU Student Dies

A freshman at West Virginia University found passed out during a frat party has died, the school announced. Police have launched a criminal investigation into the death of Nolan Burch, who was from suburban Buffalo, reports the Buffalo News. The newspaper—which notes that WVU has been named the No. 1 party school in the nation three times since 1997—quotes a family friend as saying that Burch had been "challenged" to drink up before collapsing to the floor.

The university has revoked the charter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity to which the 18-year-old Burch belonged, reports NBC News, along with suspending all frat and sorority activities. The school has called the death on Wednesday night the result of a "catastrophic medical emergency" but has offered no other details. “We are investigating all aspects of this party, and I mean all aspects,” says the police chief in Morgantown. (More West Virginia stories.)