Can you become dead from meningitis?

Yes: Especially if not recognized in a timely fashion and treated appropriately.

Yes: One of the greatest malpractice pitfalls is missing bacterial meningitis. You won't get a second chance; death or severe brain damage will result. Meningococcemia that may accompany meningitis can announce itself just as a flu-like illness with a few petechiae -- miss it, and a few hours later, gangrene and meningitis supervene, then death.