Former Missouri Fiji pledge Danny Santulli is back home but 'blind' and 'unable to walk or communicate,' attorney says
Danny Santulli is back in his parents' home in Minnesota after several months in a rehabilitation hospital in Colorado, said attorney David Bianchi.
Santulli is in the care of his parents, but his condition hasn't changed, Bianchi said.
"He has massive brain damage," Bianchi said. "He's blind. He's unable to walk or communicate."
The brain damage resulted from alcohol poisoning Santulli experienced at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house on the University of Missouri campus in October. He was a freshman pledge at the frat, known commonly as Fiji.
The university has ousted the fraternity from campus for repeated violations. MU also has sanctioned 13 fraternity members, though it hasn't revealed the sanctions.
Bianchi, representing Santulli's parents, settled a lawsuit he had filed against the fraternity and 22 other defendants.
In a hearing Monday, Bianchi sought in a motion to add fraternity brothers Samuel Gandhi and Alec Wetzler to the lawsuit in an amended petition.
"We didn't know about them when we filed the original lawsuit," Bianchi said.
Judge Joshua Devine approved Bianchi's motion.
The petition alleges negligence against the two. It alleges Wetzler coerced Santulli to drink excessive amounts of alcohol by putting a tube into Santulli's mouth and pouring beer down his throat.
The lawsuit alleges Gandhi walked away from Santulli after starting to assist him when it was obvious Santulli was dangerously intoxicated.
Gandhi walked back into the room where Santulli was at 12:17 a.m. Oct. 20 and saw that Santulli had not moved from where he had left him, the lawsuit states.
"At 12:28 a.m., Danny slid partly off of the couch and ended up with his face on the floor but he had no voluntary control of his arms or legs and remained there until someone passing through the room saw him and put him back on the couch. His skin was pale and his lips were blue, yet no one called 911," the amended petition states.
Santulli was in cardiac arrest when he arrived at MU Hospital after being driven there in one of the fraternity brother's cars.
Hospital personnel performed CPR and restarted Santulli's heart.
The first criminal charges related to the incident have been filed against Wetzler, who is charged with misdemeanor counts of supplying alcohol to a minor and possession of alcohol by a minor.
The probable cause statement describes a text message from fraternity member Ryan Delanty to a friend at 10:57 p.m. on Oct. 19 saying "my son is dead." The friend texted back asking what Delanty did to him, with Delanty texting, "I left him."
Delanty had been designated as Santulli's mentor, or "pledge dad," with the event called "Pledge Dad Reveal Night."
More: Family of hospitalized University of Missouri student sues Fiji fraternity over alcohol poisoning
The probable cause alleges Wetzler was an organizer of the event and supplied alcohol to Santulli and others.
The statement claims Santulli drank three-fourths of the bottle of vodka he was given and directed to drink.
The fraternity members should be charged under Missouri's hazing statute, which has never been used, Bianchi said.
"Missouri's got a good anti-hazing statute," Bianchi said.
In fact, the probable cause statement recommended a felony charge of hazing against Wetzler, alleging Santulli's life was endangered.
Wetzler's initial court appearance on the criminal charges is scheduled for July 5.
More: Family of former Mizzou student agrees to five more settlements in Fiji hazing lawsuit
Devine, before approving the amended lawsuit, first approved dismissal of several defendants sought by Bianchi because of the settlements. Bianchi, appearing by video, said he would seek dismissal for the remaining defendants, except the new ones, throughout this week.
An attorney for one of the dismissed defendants told the judge he was concerned because his client remained named in the amended lawsuit.
The defense attorney was reassured by Devine and Bianchi.
"We weren't trying to sneak people back into the case," Bianchi said.
Bianchi said he would delete the names of dismissed defendants in the lawsuit.
Roger McKinney is the education reporter for the Tribune. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on Twitter at @rmckinney9.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Attorney: Ex-Mizzou Fiji pledge is home but 'blind,' 'unable to walk'
