WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The second Annual Luke Roux Memorial Scholarship award was given to a high school athlete in West Hartford who embodies the same characteristics as Roux who was killed when he was hit by a drunk driver in June 2022.
22-year-old Jacob Coffey was convicted earlier this year and sentenced to 15 years for manslaughter for driving while under the influence and running a red light hitting Roux’s car killed the teen just 11 days after graduating from Farmington High School.
The Luke Roux Memorial Fund was established in his memory by his parents so other families don’t have to go through the same thing.
“Whether we're handing out scholarships like at an event like this today we're underscoring that message again of the dangers of drinking and driving,” said Steve Roux, Luke’s dad.
The fund holds several events throughout the year like encouraging random acts of kindness in October in celebration of Luke’s birthday and gifting Farmington High School Seniors with Uber gift cards to ensure a safe ride home.
Once a year the memorial fund gifts out the Luke Roux Memorial Scholarship Award to a student-athlete who exemplifies the characteristics of Luke which are humility, kindness, discipline, consistency, and work ethic. This year's award was given to Blake Ittleson, a goalie for Conard High School.
Carri and Steve Roux presented Ittleson with the award before Wednesdays with the help of last year's scholarship recipient who held Luke’s hockey jersey. The ceremony came with a message, “If you drink, don’t drive. Decide to Ride.”
The Scholarship is made possible by the Luke Roux Memorial fund which will hold one of its largest fundraisers next week.
The Luke Roux Memorial Game will take place at the Avon Old Farms Rink on January 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Jake Garcia is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at jgarcia@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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