Criminal Charges Filed in Saratoga County Car Crash

Published January 9, 2013 by Scott Gottlieb, Injury Law Attorney

A charge of vehicular homicide has been filed in a December 1 car crash that killed two high school students on Interstate 87 in Saratoga County.

The defendant, Dennis Drue, is a 22-year-old Siena College student. At a January 7 arraignment, he was presented with a criminal indictment of 59 charges, included vehicular homicide, driving while impaired and other felonies.

On the first day of December 2012, Drue crashed his car into a Ford Explorer and caused it to roll over. He is charged with being impaired by drugs and alcohol at the time. The two teenagers inside the Explorer were killed.

Drue was released after posting $50,000 bail.

Generally speaking, a wrongful death is one that occurs because of the carelessness or misconduct of someone else. The family of a person killed by a reckless driver might have the right to bring a wrongful death claim for financial compensation.

According to media reports:

Saratoga County District Attorney James Murphy says Drue is accused of driving while impaired by marijuana and alcohol.

State police investigators say Drue, of Halfmoon, hit a 2004 Ford Explorer driven by 17-year-old Chris Stewart, causing it to roll several times and crash. Stewart and 17-year-old Deanna Rivers were killed. Both were seniors at Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park.

Two other high school students were injured in the Dec. 1 crash.

No amount of money can replace a loved one. But a wrongful death claim can provide survivors with financial security as they rebuild their lives.

In general, surviving family members can seek compensation for: