UC Irvine Student Reportedly Died from Alcohol Poisoning During Fraternity Hazing
By Bryan Ke
Noah Domingo, an 18-year-old Filipino-American freshman at the University of California Irvine, had reportedly died from “accidental acute ethanol poisoning,” according to a statement released by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Domingo died around 3:30 a.m. PST on Jan. 12; however, authorities only received the initial 911 call around six hours later at 9:30 a.m. and was found unresponsive, CBS News reported.
“Someone is not breathing. They’re not OK,” the person who called 911 told the operator. “Their whole body is like blue right now,” it said, adding that Domingo “just drank too much,” AsAm News reported.
Statement from the coroner’s office, released on March 11, said that the teen died from alcohol poisoning. His blood alcohol level was reportedly more than four times the legal limit.
The incident occurred during a Sigma Alpha Epsilon party when Domingo was said to be taking part in a longstanding, albeit dangerous, fraternity ritual in the university.
“We have discovered the horrifying truth about fraternity hazing,” the teen’s father, Dale Domingo, said in a statement to CBS News. “Noah was compelled to guzzle a so-called ‘family drink’ to become part of his big brother’s family. It is why fraternities openly refer to this type of ritual as being one of the ‘deadly nights.'”
Noah’s father, however, disputed the 911 call and said that his son did not just drink too much. He finds that classifying his son’s death as such is “victim blaming” and that it is fraternity hazing to blame.
Authorities, meanwhile, are still investigating the case and have not confirmed if whether the hazing played a role in Domingo’s death or not.
“The Irvine Police Department is actively investigating this case. At the conclusion of our investigation we will present our findings to the District Attorney’s Office, which will determine whether charges are warranted,” Lt. Mark Anderson said in a statement.
According to a statement from the university, the fraternity has been put on interim suspension as authorities investigate the case. The Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s national organization has closed the university’s chapter indefinitely, the statement added.
Featured image via Facebook / Noah Domingo
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