Court documents detail a horrifying text sent by a fraternity member after a hazing initiation took a disastrous turn.
Danny Santulli was likely filled with anticipation about beginning his college journey and making new friends.
However, a hazing incident in 2021 drastically altered his life.
In late 2021, the then-19-year-old was left blind, unable to speak, and confined to a wheelchair following an incident at the University of Missouri.
On the night of October 19, 2021, the freshman was found in a car suffering from cardiac arrest and alcohol poisoning, his blood alcohol level nearly six times the legal limit.
While Santulli survived, he now requires lifelong care, and his family’s attorney has described the young man’s condition as “the worst fraternity hazing injury ever in the United States.”
A New York Post report indicates that Santulli was participating in a ritual called ‘pledge dad reveal night’ at the time.
Court documents revealed that Ryan Delanty was responsible for Santulli as his ‘pledge dad’ at the Phi Gamma Delta, also known as Fiji, fraternity house.
The documents also noted a four-word text Delanty reportedly sent after Santulli’s condition deteriorated due to significant alcohol consumption.
According to court records, Delanty texted a friend saying, “My son is dead.”
David Bianchi, the family’s attorney, reviewed security footage and stated that Delanty handed Santulli a bottle of alcohol to drink throughout the night.
Appearing on Good Morning America, Bianchi explained: “In the videos, we see one of the fraternity members putting a tube in Danny’s mouth with a funnel at the other end and pouring beer down his throat while Danny is in the middle of consuming an entire bottle of vodka. That’s on the video.”
“They were given their family bottle of alcohol, and then they drank from it, and they took them upstairs. For the next two hours, they drank and drank and drank,” Bianchi added.
Santulli’s family has also viewed the security footage and hopes to raise awareness to prevent other families from experiencing similar anguish.
On May 10, Delanty pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of supplying liquor to a minor and a misdemeanor count of hazing.
He began serving a six-month sentence at the Boone County jail on May 24.