Ludlowe Student Charged In Fatal Crash Appears In RI Court

FAIRFIELD, CT — A Fairfield Ludlowe High School student charged in connection with a crash that killed one schoolmate and sent another to the hospital was arraigned Tuesday in Rhode Island family court.

The crash occurred about 12:30 p.m. Sunday on Block Island in Rhode Island. Jake Panus, 16, of Southport, was declared dead at the scene, and another boy who was seriously injured was flown by helicopter to a hospital, according to Rhode Island State Police. All five teens involved in the crash were Ludlowe students.

READ MORE: Obituary: Southport 16-Year-Old Was 'A Shining Light'

The driver, a girl, was charged with driving under the influence of liquor or drugs resulting in death, driving under the influence resulting in serious injury, driving to endanger resulting in death and driving to endanger resulting in serious injury, state police said.

The girl was released Tuesday to a parent and will be on home confinement with electronic monitoring, according to Kara Picozzi, deputy director of community outreach and public relations for the Rhode Island Supreme Court. The teen was also required to surrender her driver’s license and undergo substance abuse evaluation. Her next court hearing will take place in about a month in Rhode Island’s Washington County.

The driver’s identity has not been released and will only be made public if she is waived out of family court upon motion of the attorney general, according to Picozzi.

Panus was described in his obituary as “the life of any gathering.” He was a good student who played on the football and lacrosse teams, and was a member of his church youth group, a counselor in training at the Wakeman Boys & Girls Club and a volunteer at the annual Pequot Library book sale. He hoped to go to college at the University of South Carolina, which his father attended.

A private celebration-of-life service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Southport Congregational Church, and can be viewed via livestream at www.southportucc.org. The Panus family will greet community members at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on the Pequot Library lawn.