A San Diego State University student, who claims he was “nearly killed” during a prank ritual, is suing the Kappa Sigma fraternity and nine former members.
Benjamin Brennan alleged in a lawsuit that he was left in a coma as a 19-year-old student after he was forced to drink 750ml of rum in 30 minutes as part of a pledge in April 2021.
His unconscious body was then left in a car in a hospital parking lot by fraternity members who drove off without him recognizing him, according to a complaint filed Thursday.
Brennan was discovered by hospital staff, placed on life support and given a one percent chance of survival, according to the lawsuit. He “miraculously” survived but two years later, at the age of 21, is still on a “difficult road to recovery”.
He is now seeking an unspecified amount in damages from the fraternity, which was suspended from school in 2020 after separate reports of hazing and compulsive alcohol consumption. The class is expelled entirely in 2022.
Benjamin Brennan alleged in a lawsuit that he was left in a coma as a 19-year-old student at San Diego State University while vowing to join the Kappa Sigma fraternity
He is now seeking an unspecified amount in damages from the fraternity, which was suspended from school in 2020 and expelled entirely in 2022.
The complaint names the national Kappa Sigma fraternity, its dissolved chapter at San Diego State University, as well as several of its suspended members.
He can’t work, and we don’t know if he will be able to. He can’t go back to school now. “All of these types of damages, all of the damages of emotional distress that he’s going to suffer,” said his attorney, James Frantz. ABC7.
There was a 750ml bottle of Captain Morgan Rum. He was instructed, and ordered to drink everything. And they provided tobacco and marijuana, and that was meant to be consumed as well.
“Although doctors gave Brennan less than a 1% chance of survival, Brennan miraculously survived and is on a very long and difficult road to recovery,” the suit says.
He can’t work, and we don’t know if he will be able to. ‘He can’t go back to school right now,’ his attorney James Frantz (pictured) told ABC7
Before the accident, Ben was everyone’s favorite guy. It lit up a room, his sister, Caitlin Brennan, told ABC7. “Now, it looks like we’re getting to know a new Ben.”
On April 16, 2021, Brennan pledged to join the fraternity of Kappa Sigma.
The lawsuit alleges that upon his arrival at the fraternity’s home, he was robbed of his cell phone and car keys, preventing him from leaving the house or documenting what would happen to him that evening.
In addition to drinking rum, he was also ordered to smoke strong tobacco that was “much stronger than the tobacco found in regular cigarettes,” according to the lawsuit.
About an hour and a half after losing consciousness, Brennan was put into a car and taken to the hospital, where he was allegedly left. Firat members “failed to provide any information of any kind that could assist the hospital’s efforts to treat him.”
The suit reads: “Brennan was thrown from the car … into the entrance to the emergency department of the hospital.
“The Defendants walked away…without facilitating in any way his admission to hospital, or without facilitating any medical care or medical attention for (him).”
The lawsuit also alleges that members of the fraternity conspired and tried to cover up what happened by telling investigators they had nothing to do with it.
Brennan was eventually found in his car, vomiting and “not protecting his airway”. He was immediately placed on life support and given a one percent chance of survival due to a blood alcohol level of 0.489.
San Diego State University told FOX 5 San Diego in a statement that it “has no comment on the unnamed lawsuit.”
These boys left their brother and left him to die. “This is not siblings,” his mom, Lindsey Gibson, told ABC7.
San Diego State University said Fox 5 San Diego In a statement, she “has no comment on the lawsuit, which she did not name.”
“However, the university can speak to its ongoing approach to educating students in an effort to mitigate behavioral and other issues within our SDSU community.” He Said.
Kappa Sigma was suspended from SDSU in 2020 and expelled in 2022. The chapter appealed the university’s decision earlier this year, and the university upheld the expulsion. The chapter is not an accredited and recognized student organization (RSO), and has not been in existence since May 2020.”
