IRVINE – Police are investigating whether a hazing ritual led to a student's death following a football game between pledges and University of California, Irvine fraternity members.
Kenny Luong, 19, of Rosemead.CA died of head injuries about 2 p.m. Tuesday at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana. He had been injured by a tackle during Sunday afternoon's game at an Irvine park, according to Daniel Dai, 21, a fellow Lambda Phi Epsilon pledge.

It was "as if he had the breath knocked out of him because he became limp and knocked to the ground," Dai said. "Kenny was one of the youngest guys in the group, but he was one of the guys with the most heart."
Dai said he and eight other pledges played against 30 to 40 fraternity members in what he described as "a hazing disguised as a football game."

Simple hazing is a misdemeanor, said Police Lt. Jeff Love. But if hazing leads to a death, those responsible could face felony manslaughter or homicide charges, he said.

Police had no information that criminal activity led to Luong's death, Love said.

"But given the fact that it was part of a pledging activity, we wanted to make sure," he said, adding that detectives were interviewing players and spectators Tuesday.

Luong and the other pledges attended California Polytechnic University, Pomona, where they wanted to start a Lambda Phi Epsilon chapter, Love said.

The would-be fraternity members decided to scrap those plans, Dai said.

The UC Irvine chapter has been placed on "interim emergency suspension," said university spokesman Jim Cohen.

Lambda Phi Epsilon was founded in 1981 at UCLA and has more than 20 chapters nationwide, according to the organization's Web site.



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