South Carolina Sued for Student’s Death

The family of a Daniel Island student has sued Wofford College, contending the school’s campus security officers failed to properly react when the man choked to death on pizza.

The estate of 20-year-old Randall Heffron filed the suit in Spartanburg, S.C., on Thursday.

Officials say the sophomore was eating pizza with friends in a dorm when his airway became blocked. The resident adviser called campus security shortly before 12:30 on Sept. 10, 2011. Heffron was pronounced dead about 45 minutes later at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center.

Wofford spokeswoman Laura Corbin said the school would not comment.

The suit says the campus security officers acted with gross negligence and recklessness and had negligent training and supervision.

The coroner says Heffron had a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit.