UConn: False fire alarm led to 19-year-old student’s death

STORRS, Conn. – The University of Connecticut says a false fire alarm resulted in the death of a 19-year-old student who was run over and killed by a vehicle for the campus fire department.

State police have said Jeffny Pally, of West Hartford, was sitting with her back against a garage door outside the department Sunday and was run over when the fire vehicle left for an emergency call.

University spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz said Wednesday the alarm that firefighters responded to was “unfounded.”

The school is reviewing what activated the alarm. Reitz says it wasn’t a malfunction. She says the alarm was triggered automatically, not manually.

The medical examiner’s office says Pally’s death was the result of blunt trauma to the head and torso and ruled an accident.