Woman Killed By u-Haul truck Filled With Beer Kegs During Yale Harvard Football Game

This is sad:

A driver of a rental truck carrying beer kegs through a parking lot before the Yale-Harvard game Saturday suddenly accelerated, fatally striking a 30-year-old woman and injuring two other women, police said. It’s not clear why the driver sped up, New Haven Police spokesman David Hartman said. The truck then crashed into other rental vans in the lot, an open playing field used for pre-game parties before Yale home games in New Haven.

Tim Walker of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, said he was grilling sirloin tips when he heard the crash behind him. He turned and saw two people lying on the ground. People huddled around them trying to help, according to a video that appears to have been recorded shortly after the accident and posted online. “We’re not getting a pulse,” said someone crouched near one victim, while the cameraman notes the ambulance hasn’t arrived.

After emergency officials arrived, Walker said, he saw one victim being given cardiopulmonary resuscitation as she was taken away. “The driver looked shocked. Absolutely shocked,” Walker said. Police have not said whether alcohol was a factor. “He didn’t look intoxicated or anything like that,” Walker added. “He had a dazed look like he had just hit someone.”

Hartman said the driver was in police custody. He said the woman who was killed was pronounced dead at about 10:15 a.m. at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Police did not immediately release her identity. A second woman, who Yale said was a student at its School of Management, was listed in critical but stable condition at the hospital. The third woman suffered minor injuries.

At the annual Yale-Harvard game, the parties outside the stadium are nearly as storied as the competition itself. Elaborate buffets dot the parking lots, and fans frequently fill rental trucks with kegs, grills and hard alcohol. Six years ago, Yale began shutting down all parties after halftime in an effort to curb binge drinking and keep students and alumni safe. Saturday, the university said it planned to review its policies and regulations on tailgating before games.

“The Yale community is deeply saddened by the tragic vehicle accident that occurred at a Yale Bowl parking lot this morning,” the school said in statement.At halftime of the game, the public address announcer at Yale Bowl informed the crowd of the accident and the woman’s death. He asked spectators to stand and observe a moment of silence.

R.I.P.

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