A former University of Missouri-Columbia freshman who was hospitalized last September with alcohol poisoning has sued Kappa Alpha fraternity and three of its members for negligence surrounding a hazing ritual.

Brandon Zingale was an 18-year-old pledge at Kappa Alpha when he was “coerced by active members of (the fraternity) to drink so much vodka that he nearly died” at the fraternity house in Columbia the night of Sept. 27, 2016, the lawsuit alleges.

After Zingale passed out, fraternity members left the freshman alone after putting him to bed and attaching a backpack in an effort to keep him from rolling over and suffocating. The next morning, Zingale was found unconscious and foaming at the mouth when paramedics arrived.

His blood-alcohol content at almost 10 hours after he stopped drinking was 0.41 percent, more than five times the legal limit for driving in Missouri (0.08 percent). Zingale experienced acute respiratory failure, nerve compression and metabolic dysfunction, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Boone County Circuit Court.