AUSTIN, Texas _ A spirit group at the University of Texas says it has suspended some members and expelled others who participated in hazing the night before a new member was grievously injured in a wreck on the way back to Austin from a retreat. But the Texas Cowboys said a third-party investigation found that neither alcohol nor hazing contributed to the accident.
The statement released by William Furst, the foreman of the Cowboys and a senior in UT's Plan II honors program, is the first public statement by the group since Nicholas Cumberland, 20, was ejected from a vehicle Sept. 30 on U.S. 183 in Lampasas County. He died four weeks later.
"As foreman of the Texas Cowboys, I can confidently say that we are all ashamed of the way that some of our members acted on the night of our fall retreat," Furst said. "It did not align with the standards of our organization, the standards of this university, and most importantly, the standards we set for ourselves as brothers who care for one another." He added, "We cannot begin to understand the pain the Cumberland family is feeling in the wake of this tragedy."
