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Missouri student, victim of ‘the worst fraternity hazing injury ever,’ is ‘alive for a reason’: parents

The case of the then-19-year-old, who suffered brain damage from severe alcohol poisoning, is being explored in A&E’s new true-crime docuseries, “Houses of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life.”

The show details how Greek organizations can have “far-reaching consequences that can turn dangerous, even deadly.” It features interviews with former fraternity and sorority members, loved ones, law enforcement and other experts.

The Santulli family has come forward to raise awareness about their son and the peer pressure they said he endured leading up to his life-altering injuries.

“Prior to the incident, he was very sleep-deprived,” Santulli’s mother, Mary Pat Santulli, told Fox News Digital. “[The fraternity was] draining his account… He was very drained… At that point, I talked to him and said, ‘Danny, you don’t have to go through this. You can quit. You have to do what’s best for you.’”

“He was… quiet about it,” the matriarch reflected. “And then two days later, this happened… I just couldn’t believe what took place that night.”

According to the episode, Santulli broke down to his older sister Meredith. He was struggling with the recruitment of the fraternity Phi Gamma Delta. His grades were slipping.

Previously, he was hospitalized after an older member instructed him to climb inside a trash can filled with broken glass.

At the time of the incident that would rock his family, Santulli was taking part in a ritual called “pledge dad reveal night.” According to the series, Santulli was forced to drink hard liquor, followed by beer.

Just before 11 p.m., a heavily intoxicated Santulli was seen in security camera footage losing his balance, and eventually falling backwards. Fraternity members then carried him to a nearby sofa. At one point, his head hit a tile floor.

Santulli’s limp body fell off the sofa at 12:30 a.m. and was not put back until 15 minutes later, when he was taken outside. While carrying Santulli to the door, the video footage showed members of the fraternity dropping him. He was then taken to the hospital in a car driven by fraternity members.

Santulli was found in cardiac arrest and not breathing inside the vehicle. Authorities said his blood alcohol content was 0.486%, six times the legal limit.

Santulli’s father, Tom Santulli, told Fox News Digital it was important for him to watch the painful footage for himself.

“People say, ‘Are you sure you want to see it?’ Yes, I want to see what happened to my son,” Tom explained. “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].’”

Santulli’s father, Tom Santulli, told Fox News Digital it was important for him to watch the painful footage for himself.

“Now we’re focused – now we’re on a mission, and we’re going to hold people accountable for what happened that evening,” the patriarch added.

Santulli spent six weeks at the University of Missouri Hospital’s intensive care unit before moving to a rehab hospital in Colorado. As a result of the incident, doctors say he will need care for life. He has been described as a victim of “the worst fraternity hazing injury ever in the United States,” his family’s attorney said.

“I think Danny’s alive… because other kids were not as fortunate when there was a hazing incident,” said Tom. “… He’s alive for a reason.”

“This is real, [this] is happening [to other students],” chimed Mary Pat. “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.”

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