Update: 1/8/13: Dennis Drue faces 52 felony counts, including charges for vehicular homicide
A 2008 mugshot of Dennis Drue, the man allegedly responsible for causing a December 1 accident on the Northway that claimed the lives of two local high school students.
On Monday, Dennis Drue, the 22-year old Siena College student who is allegedly responsible for causing a fatal car accident on December 1 that claimed the lives of two local high school students and seriously injured two others, was charged with over 50 felonies by local authorities.
According to the Times Union, prosecutors claim that Drue was driving while impaired by both alcohol and marijuana.
The December 1 crash occurred on the Northway, when Drue rear-ended an SUV driven by Shenedehowa High School senior Chris Stewart. Stewart’s vehicle rolled across three lanes of traffic and into the median. Shenedehowa High School senior Deanna Rivers, along with Stewart, died in the crash. Shenedehowa High School student Matt Hardy, the boyfriend of Rivers, survived, as did Shaker High School senior Bailey Wind, the girlfriend of Stewart. Hardy and Wind sustained serious injuries but are on the road to recovery.
The Saratogian reports that vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter and vehicular assault are among the most critical charges in the indictment leveraged against Drue. The Saratogian also found that, within the past four years, Drue has amassed a continuous record of 22 traffic violations. His driving record includes tickets and violations for speeding, failure to stop at a stop sign, using his cellphone, and tinted windows in his vehicle.
In the days and weeks following the December 1 crash, the local community joined together in an outpouring of support for the victims. The story of the four teenagers involved in the accident became a public sensation, gaining attention on a national scale with coverage from national media outlets such as USA Today, ESPN, the New York Post and the Huffington Post.
Drue’s attorney, Stephen Coffey, believes that the popularity of the story and the depth of the tragedy has impacted his client’s case. “I’m simply saying, reality is that the public’s perception, because of this terrible accident, is that he is guilty,” Coffey told the Saratogian.
Warren Redlich, a local Albany attorney, remarked in a blog post on December 8, “It is unfortunate that so many people have rushed to judgment on Dennis Drue. We don’t know yet what happened, and we may never know for sure. His lawyer, Steve Coffey, deserves some credit for trying to bring out Drue’s positive side.”
Twitter once again came alive with the latest update on the tragic story. Some tweets expressed satisfaction with Drue’s indictment. One read, “Dennis Drue should be behind bars for the rest of his life.” However, others tweeted in defense of Drue— “What if Dennis Drue was your brother. Or cousin or just a really close friend. You guy treat him like he’s inhuman because he made a mistake.”
The Times Union reported that Patricia Hardy, Matt Hardy’s mother, expressed a need for justice to be served. “I don’t wish this upon anybody. But if you are responsible for something like this, you need to be held accountable,” she said.
Drue posted $50,000 bail. He will face a maximum of 25 years in prison if convicted.
Please read below for past updates on this story.
From left, Chris Stewart, Bailey Wind, Deanna Rivers and Matt Hardy.
Update 12/06/12: The blood alcohol results on Dennis Drue, the 22-year-old Siena College student who was involved in a fatal crash that killed Chris Stewart and Deanna Rivers, seniors from Shenendehowa High School, and injured Matt Hardy and Bailey Wind, a student at Shaker, on Saturday evening have been completed but not yet released to the public.
According to the Times Union, the blood test on Drue yielded a level of alcohol that was not high enough for police to charge him with driving while intoxicated. The Times Union reports that two people who were briefed on the investigation commented that the level of alcohol in Drue’s system was actually “very low.”
On Sunday, State Police Captain Steven James remarked, “It is anticipated that charges will be leveled against Mr. Drue which equate to vehicular manslaughter … and that is coupled with the fact our investigation reveals that there is alcohol involvement.”
However, following the results of Drue’s blood test, State Police and Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III issued a joint statement, explaining that they “have chosen to postpone any charging decisions and have asked the NYSP Crime Labto continue testing the blood sample for other substances, as they would in any investigation.”
State law indicates that a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of .08 percent is the legal limit, and a level of .05 percent or lower indicates that an individual is not impaired or intoxicated.
In regards to the blood tests on Drue, his attorney, Stephen J. Coffey told the Times Union that he’s “thought before that it would not come back at a higher level, and I don’t know (the level) for sure, only the district attorney knows, but now I’m beginning to think even more strongly that that test is not supporting alcohol as a contributing factor.”
James also stated on Sunday that, if Drue’s level was below .08 percent, “then we would be looking, more or less, at criminally negligent homicide, but we are not there yet, further testing needs to be done.”
According to the Saratogian, James and Murphy stated, “We both agree that before a charging decision is made, further testing needs to be done…It is important for us to allow the lab to do a thorough investigation rather than one that is based on artificial time tables.”
Update 12/04/12: On Monday evening, members of the local community had two requests: Tim Tebow, call Matt Hardy. Missy Franklin, call Bailey Wind.
Hardy and Wind remain in the hospital due to injuries sustained from the accident that claimed the lives of their friends and classmates on Saturday evening, Chris Stewart and Deanna Rivers.
By 7 p.m. on Monday, Twitter was stormed by a revolution of grieving students, friends, family and community members. Over 50,000 users retweeted #TebowCallMatt, and 16,700 retweeted #MissyCallBailey.
Their voices were heard.
NFL Quarterback Tebow called Matt at around 9 p.m., and by 9:30 he tweeted, “Thanks to everyone who got #TebowCallMatt trending & helped connect us. Matt truly inspired me. God bless y’all.”
Olympic Swimmer Franklin called Bailey and left her a voicemail. Later that night, Franklin tweeted, “Called Bailey and left her a voicemail. Would still love to talk to her. Bailey and her community are in my thoughts and prayers #staystrong.”
Today, the story of this tragedy extended well beyond the borders of the Capital Region, developing into a message of enduring hope throughout the country.
NFL Quarterback Tim Tebow responds to the Twitter campaign spurred by the Capital Region
Huffpost, ESPN, Yahoo, USA Today and the New York Post featured articles on the Twitter campaign that caught the attention of two celebrity athletes and captured the hearts of the nation.
Original article published on 12/03/12:
On Saturday evening, two local students, Chris Stewart and Deanna Rivers, both 17 and seniors at Shenendehowa (Shen) High School died tragically in a car accident, and two other students, Shaker High School senior Bailey Wind and Shen junior Matthew Hardy survived after suffering multiple bone fractures. Wind and Hardy are in stable condition at Albany Medical Center.
Dennis Drue, 22, of Clifton Park, was driving the Volvo that struck the Ford Explorer driven by Stewart on the Northway on Saturday night.
On Sunday afternoon, New York State police captain Steven James confirmed that Drue tested positive for alcohol in his system and had been speeding and frequently changing lanes at the time of the accident. James also stated that Chris Stewart was not at fault for the accident.
Drue survived the accident with only a cut to his forehead. According to the Saratogian, he will likely face two counts of vehicular manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide depending on his blood alcohol content.
For those of us who are natives to the Capital Region, Shen and Shaker are two familiar names amidst the group of local high schools.
They are the names of the schools that many of us attended. They are the names of the neighboring schools attended by our fellow friends. They’re the schools that we competed at for sports, that we went to for prom, that we perhaps visited for a homecoming football game.
Shen and Shaker represent home for this local community, and the loss of two young students is a travesty made even more potent by the fact that they were two of our own.
When I graduated from Bishop Maginn High School, another local school, in 2010, I had many friends from both Shen and Shaker; however, I did not know the two students who died this past weekend. Yet the misfortune still hits close to home, and this seems to be the case for many in the area. The impact of this tragedy has extended throughout the region to people who never even knew the names of those we lost.
Today, there are mourners on every corner. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you go, whether it be Albany, Clifton Park, Schenectady or Colonie— you will encounter the inevitable whisperings and murmurings of the question, “Did you hear about what happened to those Shen and Shaker students?”
In the face of the most terrible heartbreak of lives taken far too soon, the community has come together with unwavering support for those directly affected by the loss.
Many may argue that, in the past, Shen and Shaker were rivals. Today, former rivals or not, the two schools stand united.
Students who arrived at Shaker this morning witnessed the mutual agreement to stand together. Shaker’s main sign at the entrance to the school read, “Shaker Shen United.”
Since Sunday, Facebook has come alive with a simple photo of four teenagers smiling for the camera. In the photo, Rivers is held by Hardy, and Wind sits happily in her boyfriend Stewart’s arms. They are in a state of perfect bliss, and their faces are fresh with the youth that comes with one’s high school years. The photo has garnered thousands of likes and shares from members of the local region.
Other photos have also surfaced. Stewart in his football uniform, proudly standing on the field with his fellow captains. Wind and Stewart standing together in an embrace at their prom. Rivers sliding into second base during a state Class AA regional softball game.
The images are sadly familiar because they tell the story that each of us experienced in high school: sports, football games, prom, friendships, relationships, etc.
Statuses from fellow students, alumni, concerned parents and friends are prevalent on social media. The most frequent message is, “Shen and Shaker strong.”
On Twitter, #shenstrong, #ripangels, #RIPchrisanddeanna, #shakershenunited and #518united are trending.
Today, students from Shen and Shaker have united by wearing green, Shen’s color, in memory of the loss of Stewart and Rivers, and in honor of Hardy. Tomorrow, students will don Shaker’s blue in recognition of the pain endured by Wind.
One tweet remarked, “The amount of people wearing green today is amazing.”
Even students from other local schools, such as Hudson Valley Community College, posted photos of the infinite green that filled the hallways.
Another tweet reassured, “Seeing tons of people wearing green today shows how much the 518 can come together.”
Shenendehowa Superintendent Dr. L. Oliver Robinson said, “Any time there’s a loss of life of young people, that’s a loss for us as a society, and so we grieve deeply because of death.”
An honorary candlelight vigil will be held tomorrow at 7:15 p.m. at the Shenendehowa High School Athletic Stadium.
Loading ...