AMES, IOWA – An Iowa State University campus bus driver arrested last month and accused of running down a student who died as a result has pleaded not guilty.
After an investigation in the weeks following the December 14, 2015 tragedy, Ames police arrested the driver of a CyRide bus in the hit and run accident that claimed the life of ISU student Emmalee Jacobs, age 18 of Urbana. She was discovered by a university police officer at 7:04 AM that December morning, injured and lying in the road at Lincoln Way and Ash Avenue. She later passed away at Mary Greeley Medical Center.
Ames police say Ms. Jacobs was struck by a campus bus as she was in the crosswalk of Ash Avenue. The bus driver was identified as Benjamin Clague, age 23, of Gilbert. He has been charged with leaving the scene of an injury accident resulting in a death, a class D felony, and failure to obey a traffic control device.
After his arrest on January 20, Clague posted bond and was released from jail. Ames police executed a search warrant upon him on February 4. He then entered a not guilty plea on February 15. As a result, a pre-trial conference was scheduled for March 22 and a jury trial for April 5.
