(NewsNation) — More than 28,000 people have signed a petition asking for new legislation named after a University of Missouri student who died after going missing in Nashville.
Riley Strain had been on a trip to Tennessee with his fraternity brothers in March when they went to a bar in downtown Nashville. The TC Restaurant Group, which owns and operates the bar, said Strain was asked to leave after being served one alcoholic drink and two waters. His body was found two weeks later in the Cumberland River.
Now, a Change.com petition is calling for a bill called “Riley’s Act” to be passed. This law would make it mandatory for bars and their employees to call cabs or Ubers for intoxicated or disoriented customers.
This comes after a NewsNation interview where Strain’s mother, Michelle Whiteid, revealed he had texted her that night saying something seemed off about what he was drinking.
Whiteid said he sent her a message saying he ordered a rum and coke that “didn’t taste good.”
“It tastes like barbecue,” Whiteid recalled her son telling her.
Police say the college student’s death appears accidental, and there’s no trauma suggesting foul play, according to preliminary autopsy results.
Because of the questions they still have surrounding Strain’s death, though, the family has ordered a second autopsy.
