King County to have outside firm investigate collision where SPD officer killed pedestrian

KIRO 7 News Staff
·1 min read
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The King County Prosecutor’s Office (KCPAO) will have an outside firm look into the death of 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula.

In January 2023, Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave hit and killed Kandula with his patrol car at Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street while on the way to an emergency call.

According to a forensic report released by SPD, Dave was driving 74 miles an hour in a 25 mile an hour zone at the time of the incident. Dave did not have his siren activated continuously, but “chirped” his siren at intersections.

According to the report, the speed Dave was traveling “did not allow him sufficient time to detect, address and avoid a hazard that presented itself.”

Now, the KCPAO will have a collision reconstruction firm look over video and case material to provide a third party analysis. This will help inform the prosecutor’s office decision to file charges against Dave.

The KCPAO will have an update on the outside firm’s progress sometime in November.

This comes after concerns were brought to light over the role of Seattle Police Officers Guild Vice President Daniel Auderer in SPD’s initial investigation. Bodycam video caught Auderer joking about Kandula’s death while on the phone with SPOG President Mike Solan. Auderer was also the officer who conducted a sobriety test on Dave after the deadly collision.

A separate investigation into Auderer’s conduct is being conducted by the Office of Police Accountability.