Moscow delivery driver in coma after fight with UI student

A food delivery driver is in a coma after a fight with a University of Idaho fraternity student this week on the Moscow campus.

The Moscow Police Department was dispatched to a battery report shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday near Idaho and Deakin avenues in the Greek Life area of campus, police said in a news release. Officers found one man, identified by a friend as 26-year-old Austen Dawson, with significant injuries.

Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger said Dawson, a DoorDash driver, was in the old Greek Row area to deliver food when the physical altercation happened. Dahlinger said police are trying to figure out what instigated the fight, which appeared to be “hand-to-hand” with no weapons. He declined to release the names of the men involved.

Dawson was taken to Gritman Medical Center in Moscow before he was airlifted to a Lewiston hospital, according to Dahlinger. He said he didn’t know Dawson’s condition.

Dahlinger said the other man, who UI spokeswoman Jodi Walker said was a student, had minor injuries from the fight.

Police are investigating. No arrests have been made, and no charges have been filed, according to the police release.

Walker wrote in a text message the university’s thoughts are with Dawson.

“We do not condone violence nor behaviors that put others at risk,” she wrote.

Walker wrote UI has a student code of conduct that all students are expected to follow.

“Any violations of this code are reviewed and appropriate actions taken within the scope of the university’s capacity,” she wrote.

The student was removed from his membership with the fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, according to social media posts by the UI fraternity chapter.

“Phi Delta Theta does not support or condone violence and places the highest priority on the safety of individuals within our campuses and communities,” the fraternity’s statement said. “The Fraternity does not tolerate actions that contradict our values or policies and upholds strict accountability for members and chapters who violate Fraternity expectations or the law.”

Branson Vevle, Dawson’s friend, said Dawson is in a medically induced coma with a brain injury at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston. He said charges should be filed against the fraternity member who caused his friend’s injuries.

“This wasn’t just a fight,” Vevle said. “This was taken way too far… It shouldn’t lead to somebody breathing out of a tube.”

Vevle said his friend was born and raised in Lewiston and has lived in Moscow for a few years.

The police release stated information circulating that Dawson was attacked by multiple people and was “curb stomped” are false. Police said the term commonly refers to striking someone’s head against the curb of a street with one’s foot.

The release stated police are aware of people sending what are perceived as threatening messages to the student and his fraternity members. They are “inserting” themselves into the incident by trying to conduct their own investigation and trying to contact and harass witnesses, police said.

“The Moscow Police Department cautions anyone engaged in this type of harassing and obstructive behavior that their actions could potentially constitute a criminal offense and they could face criminal charges,” the release said. “Our agency will continue to conduct its official investigation, and we ask that members of the public refrain from attempting to become involved with this active investigation.”

Dahlinger asked the public to give the department “grace and time” to conduct a factual and accurate investigation.

Police ask that anyone with video of the incident contact Detective Sgt. Shaine Gunderson at (208) 883-7067.

A GoFundMe to cover Dawson’s medical expenses had raised more than $6,000 as of Friday night.