A chilling text message allegedly sent by a "pledge dad" after a student suffered life-changing injuries from a fraternity hazing ritual has been revealed.
Daniel 'Danny' Santulli was a University of Missouri freshman when he was left blind, paralyzed, and unable to speak after a brutal hazing ritual.
On October 19, 2021, the then-19-year-old had a bottle of vodka taped to his hands at a fraternity pledge event, which he was forced to drink, according to court documents.
He collapsed after drinking the neat vodka as well as some beer and was put on a sofa in the house, where he remained for over an hour.
At the time of the incident, Santulli was taking part in a ritual called "pledge dad reveal night", according to the New York Post.
Just before 11PM, Santulli was seen losing his balance from being severely intoxicated, with security footage showing him eventually falling backward. Fraternity members carried him to nearby sofa, and he hit his head on a tile floor at one point.
His limp body fell off the sofa at 12:30AM, and wasn't put back until 15 minutes later, when he was taken outside.
As other fraternity members carried him outside, security footage showed them dropping him before putting him into a car and driving him to hospital.
Tragically, Santulli was found not to be breathing and in cardiac arrest in the vehicle, with authorities revealing that his blood alcohol content was 0.486%, six times the legal limit.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, a blood alcohol level over 0.30% is considered life-threatening, while anything over 0.40% is considered potentially fatal.
Santulli spent six weeks in the intensive care unit at the University of Missouri Hospital before being moved to a rehab hospital in Colorado.
While he survived with his life, Santulli will need life-long care after being left unable to walk, speak, or see, due to suffering "the worst fraternity hazing injury ever in the United States,” according to his family’s attorney.
According to court documents obtained by the Columbia Tribune, Ryan Delanty was responsible for Santulli that fateful night as his pledge dad at the Phi Gamma Delta, or Fiji, frat house.
Court documents showed that moments after Santulli collapsed, Delanty sent a chilling text message to his friend, saying: "My son is dead."
Santulli's parents are now using his case to raise awareness of the dangers of fraternity hazing rituals, and to make sure people are held accountable.
His father, Tom Santulli, watched the whole of the security footage to see what happened to his son in the last few hours and minutes before the incident.
He told Fox News Digital: "People say, ‘Are you sure you want to see it?’ Yes, I want to see what happened to my son.
"I do want to see the abuse. I want to see exactly what happened. And yes, I was blown away. But then again, I said, ‘I’m glad [I saw it].’
“Now we’re focused – now we’re on a mission, and we’re going to hold people accountable for what happened that evening."
He added that he believes Danny survived the devastating brain damage he suffered as a result of that night so that his loved ones could raise awareness and stop another family from going through the same nightmare.
His father explained: "I think Danny’s alive… because other kids were not as fortunate when there was a hazing incident. He’s alive for a reason."
Santulli's parents also revealed that he'd been "sleep-deprived" and struggling with the recruitment to Phi Gamma Delta in the lead-up to that fateful night, and had broken down to his older sister Meredith, after finding his grades were also starting to slip as a result.
This was not the only time Santulli was hospitalized while pledging for the fraternity, as he was also injured after an older member told him to climb into a trash can filled with broken glass.
Santulli's case will be featured in A&E’s new true-crime docuseries, Houses of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life, which reveals how fraternities and sororities and their hazing practices can have "far-reaching consequences that can turn dangerous, even deadly.”
In May, Delanty pleaded guilty to reduced misdemeanor charges for hazing and supplying alcohol to a minor.He agreed to spend six months in jail and an additional six months on house arrest.
Santulli's brother, Nick, said in a victim impact statement in court: "On the night of Oct. 19, 2021, no one had Danny’s back. Because of peer pressure, he was left to die on that dreadful night.
"And they’ve shown no remorse, especially to our family."
Delanty's attorney, Stephanie Fortus, responded that he is remorseful, adding: "He knows how devastating this has been to Danny’s family.
"He knows the injuries that Danny has suffered. He understands the recklessness of handing him that bottle of vodka that night.
"There is not a minute that goes by that he doesn’t wish that could change. I hope by [Delanty] pleading guilty and accepting this punishment, that everybody can start to move forward."
The Santulli family filed a civil lawsuit against the fraternity and 23 of its members but ended up settling out of court for an unspecified amount.
Santulli's mother, Mary Pat, added: "This is real, [this] is happening [to other students]. It will continue if fraternities and sororities are still going on.
"People need to be educated and we need to talk to our kids. We need to let them know what’s going on. [Parents] need to do their research and find out if any of these sororities or fraternities have had past violations, what the record is."
The family's attorney, David Bianchi, who specializes in hazing litigation, revealed that Santulli's case was not an isolated event, explaining: "These are part of a pattern of unsafe and dangerous behavior that represents the traditions of the fraternity."
According to reports from the New York Post, since 2017 Phi Gamma Delta, also known as Fiji, has had six documented violations of alcohol distribution policies and two hazing violations in Missouri, according to university records. The Missouri chapter has since been shut down following Santulli’s hospitalization.
Executive Director of Phi Gamma Delta, Rob Caudill, previously said: "Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Danny and the Santulli family.
"Danny should not have been put in such a situation. The International Fraternity prohibits hazing and the provision of alcohol to minors and expects all members to follow the law and our policies.
“We support anyone being held accountable for their conduct and the consequences that may result. The International Fraternity acted immediately to stop all activities of the chapter, which is now closed.”
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