- Thursday, February 27, 2025
According to an SPD analysis of the accident, the speed at which Dave was driving did not allow either Kandula or him a time to avoid the disaster.
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE impact of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) patrol car’s collision with an Indian graduate student studying in the US was so hard that the car’s bonnet got damaged and had a long dragging mark caused by the victim’s elbow at the point of contact, US news site PubliCola reported citing the department’s vehicle-inspection report after the accident.
Kevin Dave, who was overspeeding with the SUV to respond to a situation, was not able to eject from his car to get his EMT equipment and had to force the passenger door open as the fender was pushed back, blocking the door. According to the news site, Kandula’s AirPods flew into the air during the impact and one of them was found almost 100 feet away.
Dave was driving at 74 miles per hour (mph) at the time of the accident and Kandula, who hailed from the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and was due to graduate this December, died on the spot. The PubliCola report said citing documents that Kandula was hit at a marked crosswalk at the intersection of Dexter Avenue and Thomas Street in Seattle. It was also learnt that Dave hit the brakes less than one second before it hit Kandula. The speed limit in the area where he was driving was 25 mph.
According to an SPD analysis of the accident, the speed at which Dave was driving did not allow either Kandula or him a time to avoid the disaster.
“Had Ofc. DAVE been traveling 50 MPH or less as he approached the intersection and encountered [Kandula] and Ofc. DAVE and responded in the same manner, this collision would not have occurred,” SPD’s forensic analysis of the collision said, the PubliCola report added.
One witness said a siren was heard approaching and Kandula started to move faster and then a “loud thud” was heard. The SPD’s analysis said that Kandula was perhaps trying to reach safety.
The incident, which is more than seven months old, stormed the headlines after a bodycam footage revealed another police officer Daniel Auderer mocking Kandula saying she had “limited value”. It caused a massive outrage across the US and the Joe Biden administration assured the Indian government a quick probe into the case and bringing the responsible police officers to justice.
