Parents Sue After UConn Student Fatally Struck By Fire Department SUV

STORRS, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The family of a University of Connecticut student killed when she was run over by a campus fire department vehicle has sued the driver and the state.

Abraham and Shiny Chemmarappally, of West Hartford, filed suit on behalf of their daughter, Jeffny Pally, who was struck Oct. 16 after falling asleep in front of the UConn Fire Department building, The Courant reported.

State police said the 19-year-old was sitting on the ground with her back against a bay door at the university's fire station when the door opened. A fire department SUV ran over Pally and kept moving.

Police say she had been drinking at a fraternity party before she was killed. Six members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity face charges. The driver of the SUV, 60-year-old Dana Barrow, was placed on administrative detail after the incident.

The suit alleges the firefighter who struck Pally operated the vehicle "in a reckless, willful and wanton manner, and in a manner that showed reckless and malicious disregard'' for the safety of others.

A UConn spokeswoman says the university cannot comment on pending litigation.