Binge-drinking UMass student nearly dies in Pa.

STATE COLLEGE, PA. >> A University of Massachusetts student nearly died of alcohol poisoning in central Pennsylvania after police say he drank so much vodka his blood-alcohol content was more than six times the state’S legal limit for drivers.

State College police say the 19-year-old man was found unconscious in an alley Saturday night with a blood-alcohol level of 0.49 percent, which is usually fatal. The borough is home to Penn State University’s main campus, but police say the student was from out of state. They haven’t released his name.

The student was placed on a ventilator at Mount Nittany Medical Center after he stopped breathing, but has improved and is expected to make a full recovery.

The police department says it “continues to educate students and other community residents about alcohol related laws.”