The Campbell Fortune JMU crash refers to the February 2, 2023, single-vehicle wreck on West Virginia Route 259 that killed three James Madison University students returning from a fraternity trip. Fortune, then 19 and serving as a designated driver, crashed a 2016 Honda Accord into a tree at 95 miles per hour, killing passengers John “Luke” Fergusson, Nicholas Troutman, and Joshua Mardis. After a plea deal, he was sentenced on April 22, 2025, to one year in jail with all but 90 days suspended, plus seven years of supervised probation.
What Happened on Route 259
About 50 members and recruits of Pi Beta Chi, an unrecognized fraternity connected to JMU, drove roughly 45 minutes from campus to the Paradise City Gentlemen’s Club in Mathias, Hardy County, West Virginia. Court records and later civil filings describe the outing as a rush event, with designated drivers assigned to each car. The group stayed at the club about an hour before starting back.1WRIC. Driver in JMU Crash That Killed Three Students To Serve 90 Days in Jail
Fortune was driving southbound on Route 259 near the West Virginia–Virginia state line with four passengers. At roughly 10:30 p.m., the Honda swerved partially off the road, crossed back into the northbound lane, and struck a fence and a tree. The car’s event recorder showed the vehicle’s speed climbing from 83 mph to 95 mph in the half-second before impact.2WRIC. Attorney for Driver in Crash That Killed Three JMU Students Requested Evidence of Whippets Found in the Car Be Removed The Hardy County Sheriff’s Office reported dry pavement, clear skies, no skid marks, and no signs of evasive action.3WHSV. Names of 3 JMU Students Killed in Wreck Released
Fergusson, 19, of Richmond; Troutman, 19, of Henrico; and Mardis, 20, of Williamsburg, died at the scene.4WRIC. Families Remember Three JMU Students Killed in Crash Three Years Later A fourth passenger, Baird Weisleder, was airlifted in critical condition to the University of Virginia hospital.5The Breeze. Three JMU Students Dead, 2 Injured in Car Wreck Fortune survived.
What Investigators Found in the Car
Deputies recovered numerous alcoholic beverage containers inside and around the vehicle. They also found packaging for nitrous oxide chargers, known as whippets, a used canister on the driver’s-side floorboard, and a discharge device under the driver’s seat. Employees at Paradise City later collected 28 similar canisters in and around the club.6WTVR. JMU Crash Update Witnesses reported seeing Fortune smoking marijuana that night.2WRIC. Attorney for Driver in Crash That Killed Three JMU Students Requested Evidence of Whippets Found in the Car Be Removed
The crash report was checked for “driving while impaired” and “driving under the influence of a non-controlled substance.” But deputies at the scene did not administer alcohol or drug tests to Fortune. His attorney later stated that a hospital toxicology screen showed no alcohol in his system, and that the only substance detected was amphetamine from a prescribed Adderall medication.6WTVR. JMU Crash Update7Harrisonburg Citizen. Driver in Fatal 2023 Crash Sentenced to 90 Days in Jail The lack of a formal law-enforcement toxicology test left the impairment question unresolved and became a central point of contention in the legal proceedings.
Charges and the Plea Deal
Charges were filed on May 15, 2023, in Hardy County Magistrate Court, and Fortune was arrested on May 25. He initially pleaded not guilty to seven counts, all misdemeanors under West Virginia law: three counts of negligent homicide, one count of reckless driving with injury, one count of underage possession of alcohol, one count of driving without proof of insurance, and one count of speeding.8The Breeze. Fatal JMU Student Car Crash Investigation Still Pending After Charges Filed
In February 2025, defense attorney Daniel R. James moved to exclude all physical evidence of nitrous oxide from trial, arguing there was no scientifically valid way to test for whippet impairment and that possessing nitrous oxide was not illegal in West Virginia.2WRIC. Attorney for Driver in Crash That Killed Three JMU Students Requested Evidence of Whippets Found in the Car Be Removed
On February 25, 2025, Fortune accepted a plea deal from a new prosecutor. He pleaded no contest to one count of negligent homicide and one count of speeding. The remaining five charges were dismissed: two counts of negligent homicide, reckless driving with injury, underage possession of alcohol, and driving without proof of insurance.9WRIC. Families of Three JMU Students Killed in 2023 Crash React to Driver’s Plea Deal The victims’ families said they had opposed the plea from the beginning.10WTVR. Campbell Fortune Sentence
The 90-Day Sentence
Sentencing took place on April 22, 2025, in Hardy Circuit Court in Moorefield, West Virginia, before Judge H. Charles Carl III. The hearing ran more than three hours, with roughly 50 people present. Family members of all three victims gave impact statements, as did friends of Fortune and Fortune himself.11The Breeze. Driver in Crash That Killed Three Students To Serve 90 Days in Jail
Yvette Mardis, Joshua’s mother, told the court the families had been asked to “quantify the unquantifiable.” John Troutman, Nicholas’s father, said there was “nothing in the world that will make this pain go away.” The families asked for the maximum possible sentence. Fortune’s attorney argued that Pi Beta Chi bore a greater share of responsibility, calling it an “animal house,” and pointed to the toxicology results showing no alcohol. Fortune addressed the families directly: “Not a single day has passed since that one night that I haven’t thought about those three young men. I wish I could switch places with them every day.” He added, “I am sorry from the bottom of my heart and I’ll never stop being sorry. It kills me that I’m alive and they’re not.”7Harrisonburg Citizen. Driver in Fatal 2023 Crash Sentenced to 90 Days in Jail
Judge Carl said the evidence showed Fortune “acted recklessly and purposefully disregarded the speed limit” and described the case as “haunting.” The sentence he imposed:
- One year in jail, with all but 90 days suspended, to be served at Potomac Regional Jail.
- Seven years of supervised probation, during which Fortune cannot consume alcohol or be in places where alcohol is served.
- An additional 90 days in jail if he violates probation.
- A $100 fine.
Carl told Fortune, “This gives you the chance to prove you are deserving of this opportunity. You can pay back your debt to these victims by becoming the best man you can be.”11The Breeze. Driver in Crash That Killed Three Students To Serve 90 Days in Jail Fortune and his defense team declined to appeal.
The Families’ Reaction
Outside the courthouse, John Fergusson, Luke’s father, called the sentence “the first small measure of justice our families have received in West Virginia since the horrible night we lost our sons.” He added, “We opposed the plea deal from the beginning, and nothing that happened today would end our suffering or help make sense of our terrible losses,” while thanking the court for “listening to our families, considering the evidence and imposing a fair and thoughtful sentence.”12WHSV. Driver Sentenced for Role in Fatal Car Crash That Killed 3 JMU Students
Fergusson also laid out three policy goals the families intended to pursue: stronger regulation of nitrous oxide, clearer impaired-driving standards for marijuana, and reclassification of offenses like Fortune’s as felonies in West Virginia.11The Breeze. Driver in Crash That Killed Three Students To Serve 90 Days in Jail
The Wrongful Death Lawsuits
Pi Beta Chi, also called the Cross Keys Society, operates without JMU recognition and continues to appear on the university’s list of unrecognized organizations.13James Madison University. Unrecognized Organizations According to civil lawsuits later filed by the victims’ families, PBX organized the February 2, 2023, trip to Paradise City as a rush event, purchased large quantities of alcohol and drugs including marijuana and nitrous oxide for the outing, and required pledges to serve as designated drivers. The complaints allege that Joshua Mardis was pressured to drink until he lost consciousness and was carried out of the club, and that Fortune was seen using drugs in the parking lot before driving.14The Breeze. Civil Lawsuits Allege Hazing Led to 3 Student Deaths
All three families filed wrongful death suits in Henrico County Circuit Court against PBX, its founder John C. Marshall, and 28 current and former fraternity brothers. The suits alleged negligence, hazing, civil conspiracy, and violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, and each family sought hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The Mardis complaint separately sought $150 million from the 28 named members for hazing and another $150 million for civil conspiracy.15The Breeze. Three Families File Wrongful Death Lawsuits Against Fraternity Fortune himself was not named as a civil defendant. The lawsuits also allege PBX members used a group chat after the crash to encourage one another not to testify against Fortune.14The Breeze. Civil Lawsuits Allege Hazing Led to 3 Student Deaths
The Troutman and Fergusson families dropped their civil cases on January 11, 2026. The Mardis family lawsuit remains active.4WRIC. Families Remember Three JMU Students Killed in Crash Three Years Later
West Virginia’s New Vehicular Homicide Law
The families’ push to raise the penalty for fatal reckless driving in West Virginia produced results the same year Fortune was sentenced. During the 2025 regular session, the legislature passed House Bill 2871, which took effect on July 10, 2025. The law creates a new offense of “aggravated vehicular homicide” punishable by one to five years in a state correctional facility and up to a $20,000 fine, and it establishes felony-level vehicular homicide offenses in school and construction zones carrying two to 10 years in prison.16West Virginia Legislature. House Bill 2871 Under the earlier law that governed Fortune’s case, negligent homicide was a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of one year in jail.