Yale student driving keg-filled U-Haul to tailgate party charged in death of woman www.privateofficer.com

 

NEW HAVEN CT May 7 2012 – A judge has signed an arrest warrant for a Yale student who police say killed one woman and injured two others while driving a keg-filled U-Haul to a Yale football tailgate.

Sources confirmed that a warrant was signed by a judge charging Brendan Ross with misdemeanor motor vehicle counts in connection with the 2011 fatality before the Yale-Harvard game in New Haven.

Ross, who was accompanied by his father, and New Haven attorney William Dow, turned himself in Friday evening at New Haven headquarters.

He is charged with negligent homicide with a motor vehicle and reckless driving.

Dow, the defense attorney for Ross, described the case as a “tragedy.”

He had been in contact with the State’s Attorney’s office and came to an agreement that Ross would surrender on the warrant Friday afternoon after he finished his last final exam at Yale. Ross finished his last final about 30 minutes before he came to police headquarters with his father and attorney. There was no bond required so he was released on a written promise to appear in court.

“If there is any good that comes out of this, Brendan has expressed his condolences from the beginning to the family and those condolences were well received,” Dow said.

David Ross said his family had been in contact with the family of the woman who died.

“We did go to the wake and we did go to the funeral. It was a very emotional opportunity to express our condolences,” he said.

Ross came into police headquarters at about 5:50 p.m., was patted down, placed in handcuffs and brought to the booking room.

Ross was driving to a tailgating area before “The Game” when the U-Haul he was driving accelerated and ran down three women who were walking in the grassy area.

Nancy Barry, 30, of Salem, Mass., was killed. Two other women were injured, including Sarah Short, who has sued Ross and U-Haul in Superior Court.

She claimed the truck was being driven too fast, was not under proper control and was unsafe.

Short, a Yale student from New Haven, said her injuries were caused by negligence of Ross and the U-Haul Company of Connecticut.

Ross passed a field sobriety test at the scene so no blood alcohol test was administered.

Elizabeth Dernbach, 23, also was injured.

After the fatality, Yale tightened tailgating rules. It bans kegs at university athletic events and other functions, and oversized vehicles, such as box trucks or large commercial vehicles, from university lots at athletic events unless driven by a pre-approved authorized vendor.

The university in January had announced that Yale’s president and officers reviewed Yale tailgating policies and those of other universities, and after visiting other stadiums, decided to put the new policy in place.

The new rules also require students and guests to leave the tailgating area after kickoff.

The policy, effective immediately, also said a new vehicle-free area for tailgating will be created, and students who drive can park in another area at the Bowl. Continued…

The release went on to say that Yale is reviewing logistics of Yale Bowl events, including parking, traffic and parking control, security, shuttles and signs, and will implement any changes before next football season.