Speeding cop says 'I f**ked up' after hitting grad student who died in crash

24 July 2023 , 19:06

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Speeding cop says 'I f**ked up' after hitting grad student who died in crash

A Seattle PD officer admits he 'f***ed up' after bodycam footage showed that he was operating his siren improperly while driving upwards of 74 miles per hour when he fatally hit a 23-year-old grad student crossing the street.

Officer Kevin Dave is under investigation as prosecutors weighed the charges against him. When the officer killed Jaahnavi Kandula in a crosswalk at 8 p.m. on Jan. 23, he said he was 'chirping' his siren as he charged down the streets, supposedly responding to an 'emergency' call.

“I f–ked up,” Dave was heard saying in the video footage, which was only partially released out of respect to Kandula's family. The video shows the armed law enforcement agent occasionally 'chirping' his siren as he approached some intersections, but it was not in use for the most part - even as Dave's engine roared as he accelerated to speeds over three times the legal limit.

Jaahnavi Kandula was a 23-year-old grad student at Northwestern University when her life was cut short by an officer failing to blast his sirens as he sped down the street at 74mph

Authorities say prosecutors will decide on charges in August. In a report provided to PubliCola, "an SPD analysis concluded Dave was driving up to 74 miles an hour and could not have avoided Kandula, nor could Kandula have gotten out of the way, at that speed. The posted speed limit in the area is 25 miles an hour."

The bodycam video shows Dave go from 4 miles an hour to 74 in just 12 seconds. He did not have his siren blaring at the time, yet his department manual clearly states that “audible signals when necessary to warn others of the emergency nature of the situation.”

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Even in vehicle pursuits, the only other time an officer would drive at such high speeds, the manual says officers must “use their sirens continuously to warn others of the emergency nature of the situation.”

Officer Kevin Dave struck and killed a pedestrian in January, and the investigation is still ongoing on whether prosecutors will press charges

After hitting the grad student, Dave called 911 and administered CPR - even though the young woman was hit at an unsurvivable speed. In videos and witness statements, Dave sat there calmly until more officers arrived, telling them, “Lights were on. I was chirping the sirens…she was in the crosswalk. She saw me. She started running through the crosswalk. Slammed on my breaks. Started staying back where she should before crossing."

“There’s nothing for me to do right now but sit. That is the f****** worst thing,” Dave says later while sitting in the passenger seat of another officer’s SUV. “You just have to sit. So many questions that are unanswered, so many questions.”

There were several witnesses, although they were divided on whether or not they heard a siren. One said they didn't hear any noise at all from the cop car, while another said she heard an intermittent wailing from the siren.

One witness told PubliCola, "I saw a police car coming, maybe two blocks away, and then I heard a loud sound." The witness added later that the reason he knew it was a police car was because he saw the lights.

In a statement from the family obtained by King 5, the Kandula family says: "We are truly heartbroken. Jaahnavi was a brilliant student with a bright future.

:Jaahnavi's smile was radiant, and her bubbly personality warmed the hearts of every person she came in contact with. She had an innate ability to connect with people from all walks of life."

"Jaahnavi's tragic and untimely death has left her family and community with a huge hole in their hearts that will never be repaired. She was a daughter to a single mother who teaches elementary school in India.

"In spite of earning less than 200 USD per month, her mother educated Jaahnavi and encouraged her to the United States, hoping Jaahnavi would have a better future and a better life abroad. Her mother's hopes and dreams are cut short now," the family says.

Yelena Mandenberg