Bill Lukitsch
The Kansas City Star
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Police Department has handed prosecutors all of its investigative findings in a fatal Westport crash involving a Kansas City Fire Department truck that killed three people in December.
Sgt. Jake Becchina, a KCPD spokesman, told The Star in an email that the full case file was sent to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office for review on Thursday. Becchina said further details regarding the investigation would not be disclosed by the department.
The fatal crash happened on the night of Dec. 15. Around 10:30 p.m., KCFD Pumper 19 was responding to an emergency call with lights and siren on when the truck came to Westport Road and Broadway Boulevard.
The northbound pumper collided with a Honda CRV driven by Jennifer San Nicholas that was headed west through the intersection. Both vehicles continued to the northwest before striking pedestrian Tami Knight and crashing through a commercial building at 4048 Broadway Blvd. The building, which was unoccupied at the time, collapsed onto Pumper 19 and the CRV.
San Nicholas, 41, was pronounced dead at the scene. Michael Elwood, 25, a passenger in the Honda, was found dead along with Knight, 41, in the rubble the following day.
All three victims were from Kansas City. No firefighters were hurt in the crash.
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Police have declined to release details about the crash outside of an initial summary report. But family members of those killed have claimed that the KCFD driver was negligent.
In one of the civil lawsuits filed in response to the crash, an attorney representing the Elwood family wrote that the fire truck ran a red light, failed to yield to the right of way and was driving too fast for conditions.
A spokesman for the fire department has declined to comment on those allegations to The Star, citing pending litigation.
After the crash, KCFD released a written statement that said its “hearts, prayers, and thoughts are with the families, friends and loved ones of everyone involved.” The department has said it is cooperating fully with the police investigation.
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The Star’s Luke Nozicka contributed to this report.
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