Family of woman killed in crash with Phoenix fire truck files $25M claim
Aug 13, 2019, 1:12 PM | Updated: Aug 14, 2019, 7:22 am
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PHOENIX – The family of a young Phoenix couple and their infant who were killed in crash with a fire truck have filed a claim against the city, according to a news report.
The mother of 19-year-old Dariana Serrano made the $25 million claim of wrongful death in the April 7 collision near 29th Avenue and Bethany Home Road, ABC 15 reported Tuesday.
Serrano, Kenneth Collins, 20, and their 3-month-old son died after their truck was struck by a Phoenix Fire engine close to the intersection.
Collins was pronounced dead at the scene, while Serrano and their child, who had been in a car seat, were pronounced dead at a hospital.
Serrano’s mother’s claim said the accident was caused by negligence, noting the truck had been speeding and failed to try to avoid the pickup truck that was turning left.
The fire truck rolled several times, the court papers said, and the impact flung the family across the road.
Neither police nor fire department investigations of the accident have been completed, the TV station reported. The fire department said it was waiting for the police’s final report before beginning its own probe.
Three firefighters were injured but all were released from the hospital within a couple of days.
The TV station reported that the driver of the fire truck is the nephew of Fire Chief Kara Kalkbrenner.
“It is our understanding that all preliminary findings of the accident investigation indicated there was no culpability by our members in this very tragic event,” P.J. Dean, a spokesman for the firefighters union, told the station.