San Diego State Freshman Who Died After Allegedly Attending Fraternity Event Had Head Injuries
The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office has released the autopsy results of Dylan Hernandez, the San Diego State University freshman who tragically died after allegedly attending a fraternity event last week.
In a report obtained by PEOPLE, the Medical Examiner said that Hernandez, 19, died from blunt force injuries of the head after he “fell from his elevated bunk bed to the floor below” in the early morning hours of Nov. 7. His death was ruled accidental.
The report states that once Hernandez fell, he was helped back to his bed by a roommate. Later that morning, Hernandez was “found by a roommate pulseless and apneic in bed.”
The first-year student was transported to the Emergency Department at Alvarado Hospital, where he tragically died just one day later.
SDSU’s President Adela de la Torre announced the sad news in a letter to the campus community on Monday, calling the 19-year-old freshman’s death a “devastating heartbreak” for his family and loved ones.
“It is with a heavy heart that I am writing to say that Dylan Hernandez, the student who was hospitalized last week, has passed away,” de la Torre wrote in the letter, adding that she was working with his family “to support them during this incredibly difficult time.”
“As a mother, nothing can replace the profound loss of a child, and the devastating heartbreak the family and their loved ones are experiencing,” she went on. “All of us in the Aztec family are sending our prayers, and are here to support the family.”
De la Torre said Hernandez was hospitalized on Thursday after San Diego State University’s Police Department (UPD) received a 911 call the morning after he allegedly attended a fraternity event.
Though de la Torre did not disclose exactly what happened in the note, she said the university’s police department had opened an investigation on Friday and were looking into “possible misconduct” by the fraternity.
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Because of “the severity of this incident,” de la Torre announced that she was temporarily suspending the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and each of its 14 organizations.
“The university will keep the organizations under suspension while it considers next steps,” she said. “Each of us, including our students, must uphold the highest standards that do not put the health and safety of anyone at risk.”
In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for the North American Interfraternity Conference said, “We are heartbroken to learn of the death of the student at San Diego State University and offer our condolences to his family and friends.”
“The NIC has been in contact with university officials, and we are offering support and resources to the community and monitoring the investigation,” the spokesperson added.
On Tuesday, de la Torre announced that the university would be assembling two task forces to review fraternity and sorority life and the use of alcohol and drugs on campus.
“This is part of a larger issue facing college and university campuses nationwide and we want to ensure SDSU is leading the conversation regarding student safety and well-being,” she wrote in the note.
A graduate of Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, Florida, Hernandez “was an outgoing, light-hearted and goofy person who had so much love to give to everyone he met,” according to a GoFundMe page set up in the wake of his death.
“He never failed to make everyone in the room smile and his laugh was infectious,” the description continues. “This is being created to raise money to help to create memorials for family and friends as a way to grieve, and remember Dylan for all the lives he was able to touch.”
Since the page’s creation on Monday morning, it has raised over $30,000.
