Rutgers University student dies while attending gathering at fraternity house

NEW BRUNSWICK -- Police are investigating the death of a Rutgers University student who died at a fraternity house.

Prosecutors say 19-year-old Caitlyn Kovacs, a sophomore from South Brunswick, New Jersey, was at the Delta Kappa Epsilon house on the main campus early Sunday morning when she appeared to be in distress. Friends rushed her to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital around 3 a.m. after she apparently passed out at the frat house. A short time later, she was pronounced dead.

Police say it appears that Kovacs, who was majoring in animal sciences, drank too much at the gathering and died of an alcohol overdose.

"It's sad, very sad," said student Jimmy Lopez. "Such a young girl - 19, sophomore - it's sad. Very heartbreaking."

The house, on the main campus of Rutgers University, was fairly quiet, and students say the overnight gathering was small. They were shocked when word spread that a student had died.

"It's a shame that you throw it away with just a drink here and there," student Pak Chau said. "And things like this just really show you that you really have to be careful."

Rutgers University has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to underage drinking. But the university is an open campus, and students admit alcohol is present at parties. But they add that individuals must be responsible.

"On any college campus, it's going to happen," student Morgan Lau said. "People just need to learn to control themselves."

The president of the university, Bob Barchi, issued a statement of condolences, saying we're "offering our thoughts and prayers to Caitlyn's family and our support to those who knew Caitlyn best and who today are suffering the most."

Meanwhile, the fraternity issued its own statement stating, "We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Caitlyn Kovacs. We also wish to extend our sympathies to the students of Rutgers University as they endure this time of grief and misfortune."

New Brunswick police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office are investigating. Officials are awaiting results of an autopsy.