A University of Missouri student was left in a coma after he was forced to drink a bottle of vodka in a hazing incident at a frat “Pledge Dad Reveal Night” party, according to a new lawsuit.
The civil suit, filed in Boone County, Missouri, last week, claims that 18-year-old Danny Santulli was blindfolded in a room at the Phi Gamma Delta house back on 20 October as part of a tradition for pledges, reported the Columbia Missourian.
The teenager met his “pledge father” and was then pressured to drink a full bottle of Tito’s vodka throughout the night, the suit alleges.
Mr Santulli went into cardiac arrest and was found unconscious at the frat house by another fraternity member who drove him to hospital.
Medics restarted his heart and he spent several days on a ventilator in the ICU, where his blood-alcohol content was found to be 0.468 percent - more than five times the legal limit.
His family’s attorney David Bianchi said the teenager, now 19, has since regained consciousness but is still suffering brain damage four months on from the incident which has left him unable to speak and unaware of his surroundings.
Mr Bianchi described it as “the worst injury of any fraternity pledge” he’s seen during his 30-year career working on hazing cases.
A criminal investigation has been launched into the incident and Phi Gamma Delta’s national Executive Director Rob Caudill said that the fraternity’s University of Missouri chapter has been suspended.
“We have received the civil complaint and are reviewing it,” he said in a statement about the suit.
“The chapter at the University of Missouri is suspended by the International Fraternity and we continue to provide support and cooperation when requested by local authorities as they pursue their investigation.
“We expect all chapters and members to follow the law and abide by the Fraternity’s policies which prohibit hazing and the provision of alcohol to minors.”
Mr Santulli’s attorney described in an online post how the teenager endured a “month of abuse” at the hands of the fraternity culminating in the night of 20 October.
In one incident, he was allegedly ordered to climb into a trash can with broken glass.
The attorney said he badly cut his foot in that incident and needed stitches and crutches.
He was also allegedly forced to be at the beck and call of the older members.
“Danny was wooed with promises of friendship and brotherhood. After he became a pledge, Danny was little more than a serf,” he said.
“He was ordered to be at the beck and call of senior fraternity members at all hours, which eventually led to him abandoning his paid-for dorm and sleeping at the chapter house.”
His duties allegedly included getting food, alcohol and marijuana for the older boys on command, cleaning the bedrooms in the house and being forced to buy things for the fraternity members with his own money.
It all took its toll on the teenager with his grades suffering and him being under constant stress and sleep deprivation, his attorney said.
Just two days before the hazing incident, he broke down in front of his sister telling her he was struggling with the stress of pledging, he said.
His family said they begged him to quit but he didn’t.
The night of the hazing incident, around 40 pledges were made to drink full bottles of spirits, the suit alleges.
Some of the pledges had their bottles taped to their hands for added pressure and marijuana and cocaine was also “available” at the party, the suit claims.
Several pledges - including Mr Santulli - told the senior fraternity members they wanted to stop drinking but were allegedly pressured to continue.
The 52-page suit names 23 defendants including students, officers and board advisors for Phi Gamma Delta and their chapter.
Mr Santulli’s family is seeking an undisclosed amount of damages to pay for the 19-year-old’s ongoing medical costs.
This marks just the latest in a string of alleged hazing incidents at fraternity houses across the US in recent years.
In September, 11 people were arrested in connection to the death of Virginia Commonwealth University student Adam Oakes, who died after allegedly being told to drink a bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey at a frat party.
