Shortly after midnight on Oct. 18, 2013, 19-year-old Ethan P. Connolly, a sophomore at the University of Delaware, was fatally hit by a truck while walking across Del. 896.

Earlier, he had attended an off-campus sorority party near where he was hit and toxicology reports showed he had alcohol in his system when he died.

In a lawsuit, his parents want a New Castle County Superior Court judge to hold the university, the sorority and those that hosted the party liable for his death.

“Had (the defendants) executed their duty to make sure Ethan traveled back to campus on the bus, he would not have perished, drunk or not,” the lawsuit states.

The legal filings claim the university and other defendants were negligent in efforts to prevent underage drinking and protect those attending the sorority party from the danger of such drinking.

The lawsuit asks a jury to award unspecified compensatory and punitive damages to Connolly’s estate.

Attorneys have gathered evidence for nearly three years, including depositions from about 20 people ranging from Connolly’s parents to those who were at the party that night.

The lawsuit has survived a previous motion to dismiss and is scheduled for trial next year. Superior Court Judge Ferris Wharton is now considering a push by the defendants to end the lawsuit.

In a motion for pre-trial judgment in their favor, the university and other defendants argue that Connolly’s death was the result of his own negligence and that the defendants had no legal duty to protect the teen from himself.

“Mr. Connolly alone is responsible for his decision to binge drink on the day of his death,” reads a brief by university attorneys seeking judgment in their favor.

Attorneys for each of the parties involved, except one, either declined comment or did not return a phone call seeking comment. A university spokesman said the school does not comment on pending litigation. Attempts to reach Connolly’s parents in Massachusetts were not successful.

At the center of the lawsuit is the plaintiff’s claims about Connolly’s attendance of a so-called “Crush Party” sponsored by the university’s chapter of the Alpha Epsilon Phi national sorority, which is named as a defendant. The sorority’s university chapter, Phi Chi, is also named as a defendant.

The event was limited to invitees of sorority members or to those who got tickets from a fraternity, according to the lawsuit. It was held off campus at the Executive Banquet and Conference Center, 205 Executive Drive in Glasgow.

The Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 74, a local union that owns the building, provided security as well as bartenders. Capazolli Catering served food at the party. Both are also named as defendants.

The sorority provided buses to transport students to and from the event.

Legal filings state that lawyers representing the Connolly family expect students that were with him that night to testify that he rode the bus to the event, was drinking alcohol there and that policing of underage drinking was lax – claims the defendants question or outright dispute.

It is unclear why Connolly left the gathering, but a short distance from the conference center, he and another student were crossing Del. 896 near GBC Drive around 12:30 a.m. when they were hit by the truck.

Connolly died at the scene while the other student had minor injuries. They were not crossing in a marked sidewalk, the driver was not cited and Connolly’s blood-alcohol content was found to be up to three times the legal limit for determining intoxication, the lawsuit states.

The filings state that the catering company and building owner negligently failed to prevent underage drinking at the party. In its legal filings, the caterer and building owner state they had trained employees checking identification and took other steps to ensure minors were not served.

They also argue that Delaware has no laws making someone who serves alcohol liable for the actions of the consumer – a point the plaintiffs dispute.

“There is no proof that anybody served him alcohol at this party,” said Colin Shalk, attorney for the caterer. “All we did was serve food and it just got caught up in the maelstrom.”

The lawsuit also claims the sorority relied on underage, untrained members who had also participated in other Greek functions, to organize the event and failed to implement policies to prevent underage drinking and hazing despite knowing the associated dangers.

The sorority disputes this, and questions whether Connolly actually became intoxicated at the party. Its brief supporting judgment in its favor states that there is no evidence to establish “when and where he drank.”

Text messages from Connolly’s phone, revealed through the lawsuit, suggest he was drinking tequila before the party, filings state.

Because sorority rules require transportation be provided to off-campus events featuring alcohol, the Connollys claim the sorority was responsible for ensuring Connolly returned back to campus safely. The lawsuit also argues that duty extended to the other parties — an argument also disputed by the defendants.

Likewise, the lawsuit claims the university barred on-campus events with alcohol in an effort to limit its liability but still has a legal obligation to “take reasonable measures” to see that all the students bused off campus returned safely.

The university also failed in its duty to supervise the local sorority chapter in such a way to prevent underage drinking and hazing rituals, the lawsuit claims.

“The … University had in place no preventative efforts to minimize dangers to students at off campus parties,” the plaintiff’s filings state.

The university argues that the Connollys’ assertions about the school’s responsibility are incorrect. Attorneys for the university also argue that students are warned that the university is not liable for actions off campus.

Further, the defendants say that Connolly’s decision to binge drink that day was negligent and bars the award of damages.

During his time at the university, Connolly was cited for two underage or on-campus drinking infractions and completed required alcohol education measures stemming from the violations, according to legal filings.

“The University spotted Mr. Connolly’s problem with alcohol and took reasonable steps to get him to confront his irresponsible – and extremely dangerous – behavior,” reads the university’s brief arguing for judgment in its favor. “However, it warned everyone that it could not follow each of its 18,000 undergraduates to their off-campus drinking events.”

The lawsuit initially named the driver of the vehicle that hit Connolly as well as Connolly’s fraternity as defendants. The fraternity was dismissed from the suit in the past year and the driver was found not liable in a pretrial judgment signed by Wharton.

The university’s filings do note the challenge of preventing drinking by underage students. It is not the first time a university sorority or fraternity function led to a wrongful death lawsuit.

Brett Griffin, 18, died of alcohol poisoning in November 2008 after a night of drinking at a Sigma Alpha Mu “Big Brother” party. His parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the national fraternity and several members, settling before trial with all but two former chapter officials, who were later cleared of liability in his death.

In 2016, a 20-year-old student visiting from another school fell to his death from the roof of an unofficial fraternity house at 153 W. Main St. near the university. The death revealed difficulties for officials seeking to police parties off campus.