Jury rules Kan. firefighter 'largely responsible' for fatal crash

By Mark Wiebe
The Kansas City Star

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A Wyandotte County jury has found the driver of a Kansas City, Kan., fire truck largely responsible for causing an accident that killed a man in 2000.

As a result, the estate of Aaron Becerra, who was 21 years old when the fire truck collided with his vehicle at 18th Street and Central Avenue, will receive $500,000 from the city's Unified Government.

The jury's verdict, returned Thursday, actually awarded $1.8 million in damages. But because it found Becerra to be 30 percent responsible for the accident, the court must reduce the award to roughly $1.2 million. State law, however, puts a $500,000 limit on the amount of damages a local government can pay.

Becerra was driving south on 18th Street on Sept. 30, 2000, when the fire truck, headed west on Central Avenue in response to an emergency call, entered the intersection.

Attorneys for the plaintiff argued, among other things, that Becerra had a green light when he entered the intersection. Defense attorneys said that the fire truck's driver, Anthony Mots, had the green light.

Other disputes in the case centered on the fire truck's speed at the point of impact and how much the truck slowed down before entering the intersection.

Becerra, who was a Unified Government employee who maintained government vehicles, left only one heir: a daughter who is now 11 years old.