Mother of college student who died following pancake eating competition drops lawsuit

Caitlin Nelson’s family blamed Sacred Heart university for allowing 2017 event

The mother of a college student who died following a pancake eating competition has dropped her lawsuit against the school (Facebook)

The mother of a college student who died following a pancake eating competition has dropped her lawsuit against the school.

Caitlin Nelson, 20, died three days after choking during the charity fundraiser at Connecticut’s Sacred Heart University in 2017.

Her mother, Rosanne Nelson, had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the university but withdrew it after a settlement was reached.

William Bloss, a lawyer for the family confirmed the case was resolved but did not give any details, says CBS News.

The university, which is based in Fairfield, Connecticut, declined to comment, and had denied any wrongdoing.

Ms Nelson, a social work student, was the daughter of a police officer who was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City.

The pancake eating competition was organised by a sorority at the university to benefit Prevent Child Abuse America.

When Ms Nelson began to choke during the even two nursing students immediately gave her treatment and were joined by police and paramedics.

She was taken to a hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut, before being transferred to another in New York City where she died.

“It’s a tragic event that started out as something fun,. It was just a tragic accident,” Fairfield police Lieutenant Bob Kalamaras said at the time.

The lawsuit claimed that the university had approved the event despite the dangers of quickly eating pancakes because of their thickness.

The university had in turn sued their food service provider Chartwells but reportedly also withdrew that complaint as part of the settlement.