KCFD Firefighter’s Attorney Claims City Failed to Fully Install Safety System at Intersections
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The attorney for the fire truck driver involved in the deadly Westport crash from December of 2021 is now pointing fingers at the city.
This comes after a plea hearing for Dominic Biscari on Tuesday when the KSHB 41 I-Team learned he’ll serve three years of supervised probation.
Fourteen months ago, a KCFD pumper truck and an SUV crashed in Westport, killing three people.
The day of the plea hearing, KCFD said Biscari was suspended without pay pending an internal investigation and said they will seek his termination.
In a new statement given to the I-Team, Biscari’s attorney, Kevin Regan, said “the city’s actions toward Dominic are without due process and lack just cause.”
Regan also said Biscari will fight to be reinstated.
Regan now claims the city failed to fully install a safety system that can change traffic lights to green for first responders on the way to an emergency.
It was part of a statement issued to the I-Team after the plea hearing.
Regan claims the fire trucks have the technology, but the traffic light intersections do not in Kansas City.
The I-Team took the claims to another defense attorney who is not involved in the case to gain some insight about the statement.
“I think it’s just to generate good will on behalf of your client, you know, this is a guy who got up in the morning to go to work doing the job to serve the taxpayers and in the middle of performing those duties, found himself in a motor vehicle accident,” John Picerno, a defense attorney said.
Global Traffic Technologies said the system can reduce intersection crash rates by up to 70%.
The city refused to say whether they have the system at all.
The I-Team found out other nearby cities like Overland Park, Olathe, and Lee’s Summit already have it.
Overland Park installed the system more than two decades ago.
The I-Team filed a public records request to see if Kansas City bought and fully installed the system in fire trucks and traffic light intersections. We will let you know when we find out