A Phoenix fire apparatus was traveling nearly 30 mph over the speed limit before a fatal accident in April, police investigators said in a report released this week.
Investigators also found that the 20-year-old driver of the other vehicle, Kenneth "Chase" Collins, in the April 7 collision didn't have a valid license and had marijuana in his system, KNVX-TV reports. The report, which was released Wednesday, didn't blame either driver for the crash and didn't recommend criminal charges in the incident.
The three firefighters in Engine 18 had been responding to the call when the accident with Collins' pickup truck happened. Collins and his two passengers—19-year-old girlfriend Dariana Serrano and their 6-month old son—were killed and the firefighters were injured.
According to the report, the "black box" in the fire apparatus showed the vehicle was traveling at 69 mph at the time of the accident, and the speed limit in the area of the incident was 40 mph. Per Phoenix Fire Department policy, firefighters should never drive faster than 10 mph over the speed limit when responding to calls, according to KNVX.
In a $25-million claim filed against the city in July, relatives of those killed in the crash accused the Phoenix Fire Department of being negligent. Two of the firefighters in the accident the driver of the apparatus, Paul R. Kalkbrenner, whose aunt of Phoenix Fire Chief Kara Kalkbrenner, and acting Capt. Robert Golden are working in a non-operations, support staff capacity, KNVX added.
