Their son died after a horrific hazing ritual at Penn State. This is what they want other parents of college-aged kids to know.

Timothy’s parents, who were interviewed for the new A+E series “Houses of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life,” weren’t particularly worried when their son told them he wanted to join a fraternity. More than anything, they were a bit surprised at the choice and concerned that it could detract from the rigorous mechanical engineering program he was in.

Jim believes that Timothy saw Beta, which was first established at Penn State in 1855 and has chapters on 141 college campuses across North America, as an opportunity to build a community and a network for his future career.

Their older son Mike, who was also interviewed for the A+E series, expressed surprise that his younger brother decided to pledge fraternities, mostly because he himself hadn’t been involved in Greek life while at Penn State.

On February 2, 2017, Timothy was among the pledges who arrived at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house at about 9 p.m. for the first night of pledging. Much of the ordeal that led to his death was captured on video from surveillance cameras that had been installed in the frat house after a recent renovation. (Evelyn told BI she has seen the footage, but Jim hasn’t.)

According to the grand jury report, Timothy and the other 13 pledges were made to run “the gauntlet,” chugging an excessive amount of alcohol, including a handle of vodka, cans of beer, and red wine. Timothy’s intake reportedly totaled 18 drinks in 82 minutes. This spiked his blood alcohol content level to as high as 0.36.

Aaron White, the former program director for College and Underage Drinking Prevention Research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, previously told BI that vital functions begin to shut down at around 0.35 BAC, but any BAC over 0.3 is considered life-threatening and poses a significant risk of death.

But the young man’s death was ultimately caused by an intoxicated fall down a flight of stairs to the frat house’s basement. Several Beta brothers were observed carrying an unconscious and visibly injured Timothy back up the stairs, where they left him on a couch, according to the grand jury report. He later awoke and stumbled again around the room, even attempting to find his way out of the house, before once again staggering off camera toward the basement stairs and seemingly falling down them again.

By the time the Beta brothers carried Timothy upstairs again, he was unconscious. Instead of calling 911, according to the report, they covered him with blankets, attempted to get him dressed, cleaned up the party, and searched the internet for head injury symptoms.

Kordel Davis, a Beta brother present the night of Timothy’s death who was interviewed for the A+E docuseries, described in the episode how he attempted to convince the young men to call 911 before being told to leave the house. No one called for help until it was too late.

Fourteen hours after arriving at the frat house, Timothy was finally rushed to the hospital. The next day, he was dead.

In the show, Jim recalls how he spoke to a doctor in the hospital when he and Evelyn finally arrived and saw Timothy’s dire condition. The doctor confirmed to the distraught father that his son could have been saved if someone had gotten him medical attention sooner.

The Piazzas say the legal system doesn’t take hazing seriously, and colleges need to crack down

Now, the Piazza family is left only with the memory of their funny, hot-tempered, athletic, smart, video game-loving, and good-hearted son — and the determination to help other parents avoid this tragedy.

Since Timothy’s death, Jim and Evelyn have been outspoken against hazing, including educating parents about the dangers of it and what they can do to deter it.

First, they want parents to know that even seemingly innocuous hazing rituals can, and likely will, lead to more dangerous activities.

The Piazzas also underscored the importance of warning college-aged kids about the very real potential dangers of Greek life. Evelyn advises other parents to “open up that dialogue,” making sure your college-aged kids know “how important they are, how much you love them, how they are not invincible, how you trust them, but that other people do bad things.”

The Piazzas also stress the importance of pledges banding together and walking away if they’re asked to do anything illegal or damaging to themselves or someone else.

“Say no as a group. They’re not going to throw you out. They need your money,” Jim said.

Evelyn and Jim also want parents to give their kids tips about how to seek help for someone else, even in the face of group intimidation.

“If somebody does need help, you’re not a doctor. Don’t question it. Call for help,” Jim added. “If you feel uncomfortable calling for help in front of the rest of the organization, walk outside and call for help. Do it anonymously. It’s all fine.”

In Timothy’s memory and in honor of the career he’d hoped to have developing prosthetics for children and injured soldiers, Jim and Evelyn have set up the Timothy J. Piazza Memorial Foundation. The organization provides monetary support to those who need prosthetic devices.