Student driver in fatal U-Haul crash gets probation

The Yale student who accidentally crashed a U-Haul outside the 2011 Yale-Harvard football game, killing a bystander and injuring two others, has been granted a form of probation that will allow him to clear his record, the Yale Daily News reports.

New Haven police charged Brendan Ross ’13 after he lost control of a U-Haul truck carrying beer kegs to his fraternity's tailgate party in a parking lot at the Yale Bowl. The November 2011 crash killed killed a visitor, Nancy Barry, and injured a School of Management student, Sarah Short ’13MBA, and a Harvard employee, Elizabeth Dernbach.

Ross passed a field sobriety test and pleaded not guilty to charges of negligent homicide and reckless driving. His lawyer, William F. Dow III ’63, credits “the compassion shown by the Barry family and the other two victims” and the “understanding approach" of prosecutors for a resolution that includes reduced charges and Ross's admission to accelerated rehabilitation.

The agreement, approved in Connecticut court on February 1, calls for Ross to do community service, the News reports. If he successfully completes the program, the charges will come off his record.

After the fatal accident, Yale adopted new rules for tailgating at the Bowl. They include a ban on beer kegs and box trucks, like the U-Haul Ross was driving, plus a vehicle-free area for student tailgates.