The little boy, Marco Lee Shemwell, died on Monday afternoon at Kentucky Children's Hospital.

 

Thanks for all the prayers. The family really needs them now.

 

Yes they do. :(

 

This is story is so sad on so many levels. The Shemwell family loses their precious little four year old, and Jacob Heil and family probably suffer the remainder of their lives.

 

Poor choices often have major consequences.

Just an awful story. Hate this for that family.

 

The selfishness and stupidity of drunk driving...I just don't get it. Never will.

UK has suspended Jacob Heil and his fraternity, ATO. This is not really a surprise. It won’t be long before this is national news. The situation outlined in what I’ve read so far it was an “unofficial, official tailgate” that the fraternity held. The members had to pay to have drinks bought for the tailgate and the pledges, including Heil, had to handle the alcohol. Heil said he had 2 beers in the morning but hadn’t had anything since since. He blew a .051 on the breathalyzer which is under the adult legal limit for a DUI of .08 but above the underage legal limit for a DUI of .02. Tbh this sort of thing is basically common place for most fraternities on most college campuses. It happened when I was in a fraternity and will continue to happen. I’m not exactly sure what can be done to combat this, because you aren’t going to keep college kids from drinking. There are ways to make it safer for everyone involved. To prevent the likelihood of events like this from taking place in the future. Trust me, I’m not blaming anyone except Jacob Heil for what happened, but I think there are some things that the administrators could do to reduce the risk of incidents involving drunk student drivers from happening.

UK has suspended Jacob Heil and his fraternity, ATO. This is not really a surprise. It won’t be long before this is national news. The situation outlined in what I’ve read so far it was an “unofficial, official tailgate” that the fraternity held. The members had to pay to have drinks bought for the tailgate and the pledges, including Heil, had to handle the alcohol. Heil said he had 2 beers in the morning but hadn’t had anything since since. He blew a .051 on the breathalyzer which is under the adult legal limit for a DUI of .08 but above the underage legal limit for a DUI of .02. Tbh this sort of thing is basically common place for most fraternities on most college campuses. It happened when I was in a fraternity and will continue to happen. I’m not exactly sure what can be done to combat this, because you aren’t going to keep college kids from drinking. There are ways to make it safer for everyone involved. To prevent the likelihood of events like this from taking place in the future. Trust me, I’m not blaming anyone except Jacob Heil for what happened, but I think there are some things that the administrators could do to reduce the risk of incidents involving drunk student drivers from happening.

Put me in the camp that Heil is full of crap that he had 2 beers 4 hours earlier and still blew a .051.

 

Does anyone have details on how Heil hit the boy?

UK has suspended Jacob Heil and his fraternity, ATO. This is not really a surprise. It won’t be long before this is national news. The situation outlined in what I’ve read so far it was an “unofficial, official tailgate” that the fraternity held. The members had to pay to have drinks bought for the tailgate and the pledges, including Heil, had to handle the alcohol. Heil said he had 2 beers in the morning but hadn’t had anything since since. He blew a .051 on the breathalyzer which is under the adult legal limit for a DUI of .08 but above the underage legal limit for a DUI of .02. Tbh this sort of thing is basically common place for most fraternities on most college campuses. It happened when I was in a fraternity and will continue to happen. I’m not exactly sure what can be done to combat this, because you aren’t going to keep college kids from drinking. There are ways to make it safer for everyone involved. To prevent the likelihood of events like this from taking place in the future. Trust me, I’m not blaming anyone except Jacob Heil for what happened, but I think there are some things that the administrators could do to reduce the risk of incidents involving drunk student drivers from happening.

 

Keep suspending kids and punishing fraternities. Guys in frats think being in one gives them a pass to act like idiots. If more and more frats received stiffer penalties from their universities, these things would die down.

Keep suspending kids and punishing fraternities. Guys in frats think being in one gives them a pass to act like idiots. If more and more frats received stiffer penalties from their universities, these things would die down.

 

I don't necessarily agree with fraternity guys thinking it gives them a free pass, but I absolutely agree the crackdown by universities needs to be significantly harsher than it currently is.

 

I would imagine that this particular fraternity will be done for good in Lexington. Hazing accusations are one thing. Their irresponsibility directly led to a 4 year old boy being killed. That's absolutely a permanent ban IMO.

I would imagine that this particular fraternity will be done for good in Lexington. Hazing accusations are one thing. Their irresponsibility directly led to a 4 year old boy being killed. That's absolutely a permanent ban IMO.

 

I would imagine that they are going to lose their charter. 6-7 years from now their national organization may try to recharter down the road, but I definitely think they are going to be done for now.

Obviously the Heil guy is going to get charged here.

 

Wonder if the fraternity will get some sort of civil suit filed against them?

 

Also wonder if whomever purchased or supplied Heil with the beer will face charges as well?

Put me in the camp that Heil is full of crap that he had 2 beers 4 hours earlier and still blew a .051.

 

Does anyone have details on how Heil hit the boy?

His dad,brother and others were at a crosswalk on Cooper drive. The driver veered off the road and hit him

Neighbors tried to give him CPR

Put me in the camp that Heil is full of crap that he had 2 beers 4 hours earlier and still blew a .051.

 

Does anyone have details on how Heil hit the boy?

100% full of crap. Still the fact that he blew a .051 leads me to believe he was probably a distracted driver not a drunk driver. I think texting is maybe a more likely cause of the event than drinking. The penalty should be the same either way.

Keep suspending kids and punishing fraternities. Guys in frats think being in one gives them a pass to act like idiots. If more and more frats received stiffer penalties from their universities, these things would die down.

Agree 100%. This kind of stuff shouldn’t happen. Fraternities can be a great thing for a lot of people. But it’s the culture around events like this that needs to be changed.

I don't necessarily agree with fraternity guys thinking it gives them a free pass, but I absolutely agree the crackdown by universities needs to be significantly harsher than it currently is.

 

I would imagine that this particular fraternity will be done for good in Lexington. Hazing accusations are one thing. Their irresponsibility directly led to a 4 year old boy being killed. That's absolutely a permanent ban IMO.

UK has a pretty recent history of having zero tolerance for hazing. I know Phi Delt and Pike have been kicked off in recent years. Both have been allowed back on since, but they had to refound the chapters with 100% new members.

100% full of crap. Still the fact that he blew a .051 leads me to believe he was probably a distracted driver not a drunk driver. I think texting is maybe a more likely cause of the event than drinking. The penalty should be the same either way.

 

I'd bet a large amount of money he was looking at his phone when he hit the poor boy. .051 isn't going to impair the vast majority of people's ability to keep their car on the road.

100% full of crap. Still the fact that he blew a .051 leads me to believe he was probably a distracted driver not a drunk driver. I think texting is maybe a more likely cause of the event than drinking. The penalty should be the same either way.

 

I'd bet a large amount of money he was looking at his phone when he hit the poor boy. .051 isn't going to impair the vast majority of people's ability to keep their car on the road.

 

This same thought is what I was about to post. I believe distracted driving is what caused him to veer off the road.. Either way he is equally responsible.

Let's discuss his actions and case here and not in the thread about the little boy.