Centre County DA: No charges will be filed in teen’s death at State College house
No criminal charges will be filed against those who were present when an Erie teenager died in State College, the Centre County district attorney’s office announced Thursday.
John “Jack” Schoenig, a 17-year-old senior hockey player at Cathedral Preparatory School in Erie, died of chemical asphyxia due to nitrous oxide, the county coroner’s office said in November. His death was ruled accidental.
The sale and use of nitrous oxide for the purpose of inhaling it is a misdemeanor, but the state’s drug laws provide immunity from prosecution to those who render aid and stay with someone until police and EMS arrive, District Attorney Bernie Cantorna said in a statement.
“Tragically, the death of Mr. Schoenig illustrates the life-threatening ramifications that inhaling nitrous oxide can have. It is important that our young people and our community understand the risk that this drug poses,” Cantorna said. “It is also important for our community to know that if someone is in distress due to an overdose, alcohol or drug-related, they should call 911, render first aid and remain with the person until police arrive.”
Borough police and Centre LifeLink EMS found Schoenig unconscious and in full cardiac arrest about 9:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at 522 W. College Ave. There were no signs of trauma and no alcohol was in his system, the coroner’s office said.
Schoenig used a whippit — a cartridge of nitrous oxide used to charge whipped cream dispensers — to inhale the gas, Cantorna said.
Those present immediately called 911 and cooperated with the investigation, borough police Lt. Greg Brauser said. He declined to release how Schoenig obtained the nitrous oxide or how many others were present.
The inhalational anesthetic more commonly known as laughing gas is rapidly absorbed in the lungs and produces euphoria and intoxication similar to alcohol, Mount Nittany Medical Center Emergency Department Director Brian Newcomb said in November.
“The risk to our young people is that the public is generally not aware of the life-threatening effects that inhaling nitrous oxide can cause,” Cantorna said in a statement.
The off-campus house was allegedly occupied by Chi Phi fraternity members when Schoenig became unconscious, Penn State said. The university issued the fraternity a temporary suspension three days after Schoenig’s death.
The student conduct office’s investigation is ongoing and the suspension of social activities at Chi Phi remains in place, Penn State spokesman Wyatt DuBois said in an email Thursday.
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 9:30 AM.