Former advisor, ISU crew club coach dismissed of wrongful death charges in rowing accident
A former Iowa State University Crew Club coach and a former school faculty adviser have been dropped from a lawsuit against the State of Iowa and Iowa State University due to their "volunteer" roles within the organization.
Two Iowa State Crew Club members died after their boat capsized on Little Wall Lake on March 28, 2021 in cold and windy conditions. Three club members survived but Iowa State freshman Nanni and sophomore Yaakov Ben-David drowned in the frigid water.
Ben-David's parents sued the State of Iowa, Iowa State University, former ISU Assistant Director for Sports Clubs in Recreation Services John Wolfe on Nov. 1, 2022, then added former faculty adviser Jeffrey Iles and former Crew Club coach Dustin Gentry as defendants in January 2024. The lawsuit accused the defendants of three counts of wrongful death, one count of loss of consortium, and a breach of contract for Illes and Gentry.
Iles and Gentry had all six charges dismissed by a Story County judge on April 26.
The other defendants, including Iowa State and the State of Iowa, will go to trial on three counts of wrongful death and one count of loss of consortium, while the charges of breach of contract − directed toward Iles and Gentry − were dismissed.
The jury trial begins Tuesday, May 7.
Nanni's parents, Audra Zabava and Daniel Nanni, filed a wrongful death claim that the Iowa Department of Management received in August 2021, which the State settled for $2 million in 2022.
Court rules Gentry, Iles operated as Crew Club volunteers
In a court filing on Friday, April 26, the Story County court determined that both Gentry and Dr. Iles operated and “agree(d) to act as volunteers” with the ISU Crew Club, which made them “immune from personal liability” in connection to the wrongful death and loss of consortium charges.
The court ruled that Gentry agreed “to act as a volunteer” and he did not receive monetary compensation. His only monetary benefit, the court said, was a waiver of his $170 Crew Club membership fees. The Ben-David estate said the waived membership fees “modifies the terms” of Gentry’s volunteer agreement with ISU and the Crew Club.
The court disagreed with that claim.
The court also ruled that though Dr. Iles was an ISU faculty member unrelated to Crew Club when the drownings occurred, he did not receive “additional benefits for accepting the role of Crew Club advisor,” making him a volunteer advisor.
The Ben-David estate claimed Iles’ Crew Club advisory rule was a breach of contract. According to court documents, Iles wrote in a sworn affidavit that his Crew Club role was “entirely voluntary and that ISU neither expected nor required him” to advise the Crew Club.
The court also ruled that there is “No basis in the record to support an inference that either coach Gentry or Dr. Iles committed intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of the law, or engaged in a transaction from which (they) derived an improper benefit.”
Gentry was also charged with a breach of contract.
The court determined the breach of contract charges for both Iles and Gentry were "fundamentally equivalent" to the other dismissed charges, which makes them "immune" from personal liability.
More: State settles with family of Iowa State crew club accident victim for $2 million
Two students drown during club activity
Investigative reports concluded that the club's March 28, 2021 practice was the first time Ben-David and Nanni were on the water and the team's first time out in roughly 18 months. The report also discovered that some crew members weren't dressed for the cold weather that day, and that practice should have been canceled because of weather conditions.
More: Iowa State community is 'heartbroken' after two crew club members die in rowing accident
ISU Crew Club shared safety concerns a year before deaths
Officials pegged winds at 20 to 25 mph when the crew capsized.
Investigators later determined that years of misjudgments, inadequate oversight and a disregard for safety procedures by team members and university administrators all contributed to the accident.
A crew club member emailed Iowa State's Office of Recreation Services in February 2020 to reveal that the club was not following many USRowing safety protocols. The same member asked for more equipment, including a launch boat and life jackets.
"As our club stands, it wouldn’t take much for someone to get seriously hurt,” the email said.
The letter outlined three requests: building a dock, repairing or buying a new launch or coach boat equipped with life jackets, and requiring team members to take a mandatory swim test. The club implemented the swim test and began fundraising for the dock, but to Iowa State University's knowledge, no launch or coach boat was purchased.
More: After fatal crew club accident, some ISU clubs can no longer engage in their sport
According to USRowing recommendations, every sculler on the water without a coaching launch should have a life jacket in the boat and a cell phone in a waterproof bag. All rowers should also pass a swim test and a physical.
Although USRowing dictates that boaters should stay with their overturned boat, the lawsuit from Ben-David's parents, Eric and Sarah Ben-David, said the students had never been trained to and decided to swim for shore.
Iowa State suspended the crew club after the deadly accident in 2021 but allowed it to resume in 2022 only on an indoor virtual rowing machine.
A virtual pretrial conference for the Ben-David estate lawsuit is set for 10 a.m. Friday, May 3. The jury trial
Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Former advisor, ISU coach dropped from rowing accident lawsuit
