US: Bodycam footage shows police car hitting and killing Indian student

A speeding police car being driven by a Seattle police officer has hit and killed an Indian student. Jaahnavi Kandula, the deceased student, was crossing the street when the police car hit her. The policeman's body camera captured the tragic incident. Kandula was a student at Northeast University. She had come to Seattle from Bengaluru to pursue a Master of Science in Information Systems at the College of Engineering.

She was due to graduate in December this year.

Seattle police officer Kevin Dave was behind the wheel when the tragedy occurred.

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In the body cam video, the loud roar of the engine of the police car can be heard as the car's speedometer showsa speed of around 74 miles per hour. The police car hit Jaahnavi (23) at the intersection of Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street, as reported by Fox13 Seattle. After she was hit, Jaahnavi was taken to Harborview Medical Center. But she succumbed to her injuries there.

It has been reported that Kevin was responding to a "high-priority" call at the time of the incident. He had his siren on, but not continuously, as per the video footage released by prosecutors and published in part by Publicola. Prosecutors have been mulling charges against Kevin for failing to “warn others of the emergency nature of the situation.”

“I f–ked up,” Officer Kevin was heard saying after the incident.

“Lights were on. I was chirping the sirens…she was in the crosswalk. She saw me, she started running through the crosswalk. Slammed on my breaks. Started staying back where she should before crossing,” Kevin can be heard telling a responding officer.

He performed CPR on Jaahnavi after the vehicle struck her.

“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,” says Kevin in another bodycam footage.

Media reports said that The Office of Police Accountability is investigating if Kevin followed department policy.

“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,” it said. “Her mother’s hopes and dreams are cut short now.”

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