Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
International

Bodycam footage shows US cop fatally hit Indian student in Jan 2023

Darpan News Desk IANS, 24 Jul, 2023 11:14 AM
  • Bodycam footage shows US cop fatally hit Indian student in Jan 2023

New York, July 24 (IANS) A speeding cop, who struck and killed a 23-year-old Indian student in January this year, has admitted in newly-released bodycam footage that he “f–ked up” after the tragic crash in Seattle.

Jaahnavi Kandula, a student of Northeastern University campus in South Lake Union, was walking near Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street when she was hit by a Seattle Police vehicle driven by Kevin Dave on January 23.

Dave, who was responding to a “high priority” call that day at 8 pm, had chirped his siren, but did not have it running consistently, as he plowed into Kandula, The New York Post reported.

Prosecutors, who released the footage, were weighing charges against Dave for his failure to deploy his siren to “warn others of the emergency nature of the situation,” as required by police protocol.

“I f–ked up,” Dave was heard saying after the accident at the intersection where he accelerated up to 74 miles per hour at one point, much higher than the prescribed limits of 25 and 20 mph respectively.

According to the footage, moments after reaching the top speed, he slowed down the car before striking Kandula at the intersection.

The bodycam video also showed Dave performing CPR on Kandula after the collision.

“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,” Dave can be heard in the video telling a responding officer, according to The Post.

“I can have a hundred minutes. I could have…there’s nothing for me to do right now, but sit. And that is the f–king worst thing that…you just have to sit here. So many questions that are unanswered, so many questions,” he can be heard saying in other bodycam footage.

Officials with the county prosecutor's office said a decision on possible charges will likely come by early August.

Just after the accident, Seattle Police Department spokesperson Detective Valerie Carson had said that "at this point in the investigation, we have no reason to believe the officer intended to hit that woman".

Carson, without naming Dave then, had further said that Kandula's death will not be investigated as a use of force case.

Kandula came to the US in 2021 and was pursuing a Master of Science in Information Systems at the College of Engineering, Northeastern University.

Daughter of a single mother who earned less than $200 a month and had taken an education loan, Kandula was set to graduate this December.

The Seattle Police Department had expressed its “deepest condolences to Kandula’s family, and called it “a terrible tragedy for everyone involved”.

MORE International ARTICLES

WHO: COVID-19 cases rising nearly everywhere in the world

WHO: COVID-19 cases rising nearly everywhere in the world
The biggest weekly rise in new COVID-19 cases was seen in the Middle East, where they increased by 47%, according to the report released late Wednesday. Infections rose by about 32% in Europe and Southeast Asia, and by about 14% in the Americas, WHO said.

WHO: COVID-19 cases rising nearly everywhere in the world

40 people found dead inside tractor-trailer in Texas

40 people found dead inside tractor-trailer in Texas
At least 40 people were found dead inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas, local authorities said. The tractor-trailer truck was found on Monday evening next to railroad tracks in a remote area on the city's southern outskirts, Xinhua news agency reported citing local media as saying.

40 people found dead inside tractor-trailer in Texas

Indian-origin man shot dead execution-style in New York

Indian-origin man shot dead execution-style in New York
The News, quoting police sources, said that Satnam Singh had borrowed the jeep from a friend and detectives were looking into whether he was the shooter's intended target or had been mistakenly killed by someone who actually wanted to attack the owner of the vehicle.

Indian-origin man shot dead execution-style in New York

WHO adviser says G7 must prioritize COVID-19

WHO adviser says G7 must prioritize COVID-19
Dr. Bruce Aylward says in an interview that if getting control of the pandemic by investing in vaccines and treatments for all countries isn't important to the G7, it won't be important to anyone.

WHO adviser says G7 must prioritize COVID-19

US Supreme Court strikes down abortion rights

US Supreme Court strikes down abortion rights
The court struck down the landmark Roe vs Wade decision, weeks after an unprecedented leaked document suggested it favoured doing so, the BBC reported on Friday. The judgement will transform abortion rights in the US, with individual states now able to ban the procedure.

US Supreme Court strikes down abortion rights

3 members of Indian-origin family killed in New York fire

3 members of Indian-origin family killed in New York fire
The New York Post, quoting neighbours and relatives, identified the couple as Nanda Balo Persaud and Bono Salima 'Sally' Persaud. The body of their son Devon Persaud, 22, was found only the next day.

3 members of Indian-origin family killed in New York fire