A 20-year-old Lafayette man found dead in a Berkeley frat house after a night-long party Nov. 9 died of “acute ethyl alcohol poisoning,” officials in Berkeley have determined.
Vaibhev Loomba, an Acalanes High School graduate studying at UC Davis, attended a party at Zeta Psi house, 2728 Bancroft Ave., with friends that evening. He was found, face down and unresponsive, in an upstairs room at the house shortly after noon the following day – a Sunday. Coroner’s officials determined that Loomba died after a night of drinking at the house – which is not recognized by Cal Berkeley and which had been officially warned by police for excesses at past parties.
Loomba, who ran track and participated in Model U.N. while at Acalanes, was a popular former student who moved to Lafayette from Antioch.
Neighbors said the Saturday night party at Zeta Psi was heavily attended by about 100 young people and that the party was “going strong” well into early Sunday morning. The fraternity had attracted the attention of police in October – when a large party grew so boisterous Berkeley police declared it a public nuisance under an existing “second response” ordinance.
