SEATTLE — The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office hired an outside firm to review the case of a 23-year-old woman being struck and killed by a Seattle police cruiser on Jan. 26.
Aces, Inc., a collision reconstruction firm, will review all case material in the case involving the death of Jaahnavi Kandula. In addition to video and other materials, Aces may make measurements and do scene reconstruction.
At the end of the process, Aces is expected to send a report of its findings to the attorney's office.
Prosecutors from the Felony Traffic Unit and the Criminal Division will review the report "as part of our charging decision."
"Having an outside expert analysis of the criminal investigation materials will help inform our pending charging decision," the attorney's office wrote in a statement.
The officer who was driving the police cruiser that struck and killed Kandula has not been charged with a crime.
The attorney's office doesn't expect an update from the firm until sometime in November.
According to a case investigation report, the officer was traveling at 74 miles per hour in a 24 mph zone just before Kandula was struck and killed.
Kandula was crossing from east to west in a crosswalk at Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street around 8 p.m. The cruiser was traveling at 63 miles per hour when Kandula was hit.
The report found that speed was the cause of the collision, as the speed at which the officer was traveling did "not allow [Kandula] or [the officer] sufficient time to detect, address and avoid a hazard that presented itself," the report states.
According to the report, the officer did not have his siren activated continuously. Instead, the officer "chirped" his siren at the intersection. He did have his emergency lights on, according to a previous statement from the police department.
At the time of the collision, Kandula was wearing a black jacket, black pants and white shoes. She may have had Apple AirPods in both ears, according to the report. Investigators were unable to determine what mode the AirPods were in - if they were worn at the time of the collision. She was about 18 feet into the crosswalk when she was hit, according to the report.
As the officer approached the point where the collision happened, it "appeared he attempted to avoid the collision by steering and braking," according to the report. However the report goes on to say steering input "was slight and rapid," and ultimately didn't change the path of the vehicle. The officer braked prior to the collision but it was not enough to avoid the collision because of the speed.
A drug recognition expert responded to the scene and found no impairment in the officer.
The incident has since gained widespread attention after another officer's controversial comments were made public. Officer Daniel Auderer, who was not involved in the collision, was reassigned to a "non-operational position" as an investigation continues.
Video shows moments before SPD officer hits Jaahnavi Kandula