HARRISONBURG, VA (Rocktown Now) — The families of three James Madison University students filed a new wrongful death lawsuit last week against a fraternity’s founder and dozens of its members.

According to the lawsuit filed June 29th in Henrico Circuit Court, the families of Howard Mardis, John Fergusson, and Nicholas Troutman, are suing 29 members of the Pi Beta Chi frat and founder John Marshall, after the three students were killed in a car crash in February of 2023.

The crash happened on Route 259, near the West Virginia state line after the car the students were in ran off the road and hit a tree.

Back in April of last year, the car’s driver, Campbell Ryan Fortune was sentenced to ninety days in jail for one count of negligent homicide and reckless driving.