Seattle officer Kevin Dave was behind the wheel of the vehicle that caused the tragedy. In a body camera video, the loud roar of the engine can be heard as Kevin's speedometer showed an acceleration of up to 74 miles per hour.
Jaahnavi, 23, was hit at the intersection of Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street within moments of the car reaching its top speed, according to Fox13 Seattle. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Reportedly, Kevin was responding to a "high-priority" call when the incident occurred. He had chirped his siren, but it was not running consistently, as seen in the video footage released by prosecutors and partially published by PubliCola.
Prosecutors have been considering charges against Kevin for failing to "warn others of the emergency nature of the situation." After the incident, Kevin was heard saying, "I f–ked up."
Bodycam footage shows the officer performing CPR on Jaahnavi. Kevin can be heard telling a responding officer, "Lights were on. I was chirping the sirens… she was in the crosswalk. She saw me, she started running through the crosswalk. I slammed on my brakes. Started staying back where she should before crossing."
In another bodycam footage, Kevin expresses his frustration, "I can have a hundred minutes. I could have… there's nothing for me to do right now, but sit. And that is the f–king worst thing that… you just have to sit here. So many questions that are unanswered, so many questions."
The Office of Police Accountability is continuing to investigate whether Kevin complied with department policy.
In January, Jaahnavi's family stated they were "heartbroken" after the tragedy. "Jaahnavi's tragic and untimely death has left her family and community with a huge hole in their hearts that will never be repaired," the family said in a statement to KJR-FM radio. "She was a daughter to a single mother who teaches elementary school in India."
"In spite of earning less than [$200] per month, her mother educated Jaahnavi and encouraged her to [travel to] the United States hoping Jaahnavi would have a better future and a better life abroad," the statement continued. "Her mother's hopes and dreams are cut short now."
Body cam footage shows Kevin Dave hitting and killing Jaahnavi Kandula in a crosswalk at 8 p.m. on Jan. 23.
— That Guy Shane (@ProfanityNewz) July 24, 2023
Dave had chirped his siren, but did not have it running consistently, as he plowed into Kandula, a 23 Y/O master’s student at Northeastern University’s Seattle campus pic.twitter.com/IeTVuUA7cK
