Kansas City fire truck driver charged in deadly crash that killed 3 people in Westport
Update: Kansas City firefighter Dominic Biscari was sentenced on three counts of involuntary manslaughter Tuesday. That story is posted here.
A Kansas City fire truck driver was charged Tuesday after a collision in Westport killed three people in December 2021.
Dominic Biscari, 22, was charged with three counts of involuntary manslaughter, court records said.
On Dec. 15, 2021, Biscari was behind the wheel of a Kansas City Fire Department pumper, which had activated its lights and sirens. The fire truck was speeding when it ran a red light and entered the intersection of Westport Road and Broadway Boulevard where it struck a Honda CRV. The force of the crash propelled the vehicles northwest, causing them to hit a pedestrian before slamming into a building.
According to charging documents, Biscari was traveling at 51 mph in a 35 mph zone at the time of the crash.
Jennifer San Nicolas and Michael Elwood, who were in the Honda, and Tami Knight, the pedestrian, were killed. San Nicolas and Elwood worked at the restaurant Ragazza and Knight was a Kansas City Public Schools employee. All three were from Kansas City.
The criminal investigation was sent to the prosecutor’s office in February 2022.
Several lawsuits were filed in the aftermath and last month, Kansas City agreed to pay more than $1.3 million to the family members of the victims.
The crash took place less than two months after a medic had warned fire officials about Biscari’s driving. In an email to supervisors with the subject heading “Horrendous driving,” the medic said she feared for her life because he was driving so fast that the ambulance went airborne.
The Kansas City Fire Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This story was originally published February 21, 2023 at 3:09 PM.
