CyRide driver accused in student death pleads not guilty

Benjamin D. Clague, age 23 of Gilbert, Iowa, was arrested and charged in connection with a hit-and-run incident that killed an ISU student.

Michaela Ramm

The former CyRide driver who was arrested in connection to the hit-and-run accident that killed an ISU student pleaded not guilty on Monday.

Benjamin Clague, 23, entered a written plea to the Story Country judge Monday morning for his arraignment, according to KCCI.

Clague is scheduled to appear in court next month for a pre-trial conference, according to Story County court documents. The date is set for March 22 at 3 p.m.

The trial by jury has also been set April 5 at 9 a.m., the documents state.

The judge set for the trial is Steve Van Marel, associate district judge for the Second District of Iowa.

Lucas Richardson is the attorney representing Clague; Jessica Reynolds and Tim Meals are the attorneys representing the state for the prosecution. 

Emmalee Jacobs, the 18-year-old ISU student killed in December, was struck while crossing Lincoln Way by Ash Avenue. 

The Ames Police Department arrested Clague on Jan. 20. He is charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in a death, a class D felony, and failure to obey a traffic control device, a simple misdemeanor.

Police say a CyRide supervisor found “a concerning video” among the security footage from the buses, which led to Clague’s arrest.