Two Central Connecticut State University students were killed in a crash early Saturday morning.
Brittany Mariani, 24, of Ludlow, Mass. and Rich Royster, 20, of Ossining, New York were both killed when the car they were riding in collided with a tractor trailer on Route 15 in East Hartford around 4:45 a.m.
Mariani, a senior at CCSU, was driving the car, police said. Royster was a junior, and a defensive lineman on the Blue Devils' football team. Friends said the two were a couple.
"It's very difficult because many of these students are like family to one another, so it's the same as when a tragedy occurs in a family," CCSU President Jack Miller said. "It's difficult and they all have to pull together and they all have to take care of one another."
Students were informed of the deaths in a campus-wide email Saturday.
"It's the saddest day you can have as a university and as a president of a university," Miller said.
Students were just returning to campus after winter break. Classes are scheduled to start again on Monday. Grief counselors will be available for students from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at Kaiser Hall.
