I love the irony of these stories. It's pretty scary actually because this exact story usually makes a paper once a month.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- A New Mexico State University fraternity member died Friday after his 21st birthday celebration led to alcohol poisoning, according to the university.
Steven Judd of El Paso, Texas, a junior criminal justice major, marked his birthday with other Delta Chi fraternity members late Wednesday night and early Thursday at two Las Cruces bars, said police Lt. Randy Lara.
Judd and his friends returned to the fraternity house after 2 a.m. Fraternity members called police and emergency medical workers about 8:30 a.m. after finding Judd unconscious and not breathing.
He was taken to a Las Cruces hospital, then airlifted to Thomason Hospital in El Paso, where he was listed in critical condition until he died Friday.
In a statement released through the university, Judd's family said they "hope that Steven's untimely death will be a learning experience for others."
Judd was president-elect of the Delta Chi fraternity, which is housed off campus. The fraternity's faculty adviser, marketing professor Pat Gavin, said he knew nothing about the incident.
Alcohol was a factor in the deaths of at least four university students in Colorado, Oklahoma and Arkansas this fall. Two of the deaths in Colorado were discovered in fraternity houses.
Authorities say most of the estimated 1,400 alcohol-related deaths each year among college students come in automobile accidents.
