Copper thieves prevented firefighters from reaching a fatal accident for nearly five minutes. Around 3 a.m on Saturday, April 11, 2015, A Kansas City Police Department officer zoomed after a SUV, traveling at a high rate of speed. Lights and sirens blared as the officer gave chase. The drive raced the Ford Excursion through stop signs in an attempt to evade the officer. Less than ten seconds after the officer called off the chase, the driver of the vehicle lost control and crashed. The officers drove to the scene of the crash and attempted to call the fire department for help.
The accident happened close to Hardesty and Scarritt avenues. After the officers had reached dispatch; dispatch was unable to reach the nearest fire station for over five minutes. Copper thieves had cut AT&T lines serving the fire station, causing the delay in communication. On Monday, the fire chief released an emotional promise that changes would be made to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
While waiting for the fire department, the car sat ablaze. Officers used fire extinguishers in their vehicles in hopes of putting out the flames; their attempts were unsuccessful. Fire fighters arrived in time to save two of the three passengers who were trapped inside the vehicle, the driver having died in the crash. The driver had been fleeing after an attempt by KCPD officers to pull the driver over for a traffic violation.
Negligent driving can cause fatal accidents. All drivers have a duty to operate their vehicles in a safe manner, in accordance with the law. Speeding away from an officer at a traffic stop is the type of act which may breach that duty, causing a possible wrongful death. The resultant accident can cause irreparable harm to every life involved.The St.Louis attorneys at Meyerkord & Kurth have years of experience dealing with investigators and Federal regulators in order to recover the lives of loved ones. If you have lost a loved one in a crash, please give us a call at (314) 300-3000 or (800) 391-4318 for a no-obligation assessment of your potential wrongful death claim.
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