The former University of Missouri student who was incapacitated last year after a fraternity hazing incident will likely never see, walk or talk again, according to an attorney representing the family.
As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, Daniel Santulli’s blood-alcohol level was 0.0486% when he arrived at the hospital, which is more than six times the legal limit for driving.
“It’s the worst hazing injury ever in the country,” said attorney David W. Bianchi, who is representing the Santulli family.
Although Phi Gamma Delta fraternity members allegedly forced Santulli to drink a bottle of vodka at their fraternity house, the Boone County prosecutor has yet to file any hazing charges against fraternity members.
“Friends of the Santulli family who just feel horrible about what happened have started a petition to urge the prosecutor to enforce the hazing law in the state of Missouri,” Bianchi told the St. Louis Record. “Danny could live a very long time. There's just no way to know. The family is taking care of him at home and it’s a big job, very time-consuming, but they are doing it.”
Some 7,856 people have signed the Change.org petition to date.
“I filed the case a while ago against 23 defendants,” Bianchi said. “I've settled with all 23 and now I'm adding two more…Samuel Gandhi and Alec Wetzler. It's all part of the same original lawsuit.”
Wetzler allegedly used a tube to pour beer into Santulli's mouth while Gandhi had reportedly started to help Santulli but then stopped.
“There was one misdemeanor charge filed against Wetzler but there have been no criminal charges filed against any of the other fraternity members and no hazing charges filed against anybody,” Bianchi said.
As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, Santulli’s parents, Thomas and Mary Pat, did not name the University of Missouri as a defendant in their lawsuit because the school has an anti-hazing policy in place.
“The people signing this petition want all of those who played any role in setting up this dangerous and illegal hazing event to be prosecuted for hazing under Missouri's hazing law, which is criminal,” Bianchi added. “If you're convicted under the statute, you can go to jail for up to a year.”
Boone County prosecutor Dan Knight was found dead in his home last week by a gunshot last week, according to media reports.
Assistant prosecutor Nick Komoroski was tapped to serve in Knight's place in the interim.