NORTH HAVEN — The University of New Haven is mourning Ryan O’Shea, the 21-year-old senior who was killed late Friday, Oct. 16, when a wrong-way driver hit his car head-on on Interstate 91 South near Exit 9 in North Haven.
In a statement posted Monday, Oct. 19, the West Haven university said O’Shea, of Stony Point, N.Y., was a criminal justice major with a concentration in police science and a senior captain of its men’s ice hockey club team. He interned last summer with the New York City Police Department, where he hoped to start his career as a police officer after graduation, the university said. He also hoped to work for the Drug Enforcement Administration one day.
“Ryan was an avid sports fan, and he was always ready to have a sports-related conversation,” said his academic adviser, Lorenzo Boyd, the university’s Stewart Professor of Community Policing. “Ryan wanted to go into public service in order to help others. He was engaging in the classroom and will be missed greatly.”
“Ryan embodied everything that is good about being a Charger,” said Devin Bertrand, general manager of the men’s ice hockey club. “His infectious personality lit up our locker room the moment he walked in, and his love for his teammates will never be forgotten.”
Virginia Maxwell, interim dean of the university’s Lee College, said, “The loss of a young life is heartbreaking, and I cannot begin to imagine the grief that Ryan’s family is experiencing.” She added, “Our Lee College community mourns Ryan’s tragic loss, and our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his family, friends, and all those whose lives were touched by him.”
The university said grief counseling is available to students through its Counseling and Psychological Services office. “Always, and especially during this difficult time, our Charger community is here for one another,” said Ophelie Rowe-Allen, vice president of student affairs and dean of students.
What state police have said
According to Connecticut State Police, troopers were called to I-91 South near Exit 9 at about 11:43 p.m. Oct. 16 for a report of a wrong-way driver. A pickup truck heading north in the southbound lanes hit O’Shea’s car head-on, and two other vehicles then struck his car. O’Shea was pronounced dead at the scene. The pickup’s driver was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries, and three other people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, state police said. Our Oct. 17 story has the full account from the state police summary.
The State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad is assisting, and the investigation is ongoing. As of Tuesday morning, state police had posted no update since Oct. 17, and no charges had been announced.
State police are asking anyone who drove through the area that night, especially drivers with dash cameras, to contact Trooper Patrick Miko (#1353) at Troop I, 203-393-4200 or Patrick.Miko@ct.gov.
For more on the state’s wrong-way detection system on that stretch of I-91, read our look at North Haven’s five wrong-way driver alarms.
Sources: University of New Haven news release, Oct. 19, 2026; Connecticut State Police, Oct. 17, 2026.
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