A San Diego State University student who alleges he was ‘almost killed’ during a hazing ritual is suing Kappa Sigma fraternity and nine former members.
Benjamin Brennan has alleged in a lawsuit that he was left in a coma as a 19-year-old freshman after being 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 frat members who drove off without having him admitted, a complaint filed on Thursday states.
Brennan was discovered by hospital staff, put on life support and given a one percent chance of survival, according to the lawsuit. He ‘miraculously’ survived but two years later, aged 21, remains on a ‘difficult road to recovery’.
He is now seeking an unspecified amount in damages from the fraternity, which was suspended from the school in 2020 after separate reports of hazing and the forced consumption of alcohol. The chapter was expelled altogether in 2022.
Benjamin Brennan alleged in a lawsuit that he was left in a coma as a 19-year-old freshman at San Diego State University while pledging to join Kappa Sigma fraternity
He is now seeking an unspecified amount in damages from the fraternity, which was suspended from the school in 2020 and expelled altogether in 2022
The complaint names the national Kappa Sigma fraternity, its defunct San Diego State University chapter, as well as several of its suspended members.
‘He can’t work, and we don’t know if he’ll be able to. He can’t go back to school now. All those types of damages, and all the emotional distress damages he’s going to suffer,’ his lawyer James Frantz told ABC7.
‘There was a 750ml bottle of Captain Morgan rum. He was instructed, he was commanded to drink it all. And, they provided tobacco and marijuana, and he was supposed to consume that as well,’ he added.
‘Despite doctors’ giving Brennan less than a one percent chance of surviving, Brennan miraculously survived and is on a very long and difficult road to recovery,’ reads the lawsuit.
‘He can’t work, and we don’t know if he’ll be able to. He can’t go back to school now,’ his lawyer James Frantz (pictured) told ABC7
‘Pre-incident, Ben was everyone’s favorite guy. He lit up a room,’ his sister, Kaitlin Brennan, told ABC7. ‘Now, it feels like we’re getting to know a new Ben.’
On April 16, 2021, Brennan was pledging to join the Kappa Sigma fraternity.
It is alleged in the suit that on arriving to the frat house his cell phone and car keys were taken from him, preventing him from either leaving the house or documenting what was going to happen to him that evening.
In addition to drinking rum, he was also ordered to smoke potent tobacco which was ‘much stronger than that found in normal cigarettes’, according to the lawsuit.
Around an hour and a half after he lost consciousness, Brennan was put in a vehicle and transported to a hospital, where he was allegedly left. Frat members failed ‘to provide any information whatsoever that could have assisted the hospital’s efforts to treat him.’
The lawsuit states: ‘Brennan was dumped from the car… in the entryway of the emergency department of the hospital.
‘Defendants drove away… without facilitating [his] admission into the hospital in any manner whatsoever, or without facilitating any medical care or medical attention to [him].’
The lawsuit also claims that frat members conspired and tried to cover up what had 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 ‘does not have a comment on the lawsuit, in which it is not named.’
‘These boys just abandoned their brother and left him for dead. That’s not brotherhood,’ his mother, Lindsay Gibson, told ABC7.
San Diego State University told FOX 5 San Diego in a statement that it ‘does not have a comment on the lawsuit, in which it is not named’.
‘However, the university can speak to its ongoing approach to educate students in an effort to mitigate behavioral and other issues within our SDSU community.’ it 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 has upheld the expulsion. The chapter is not an approved, recognized student organization (RSO), and has not been since May 2020.’