UPDATE: Osceola County Fatal Pickup Accident Due to Brake Failure

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on October 17, 2018

Reports surrounding a recent crash in Osceola County that involved a deputy with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office suggest that the collision resulted from a brake failure from within the patrol car. We reported on this incident last week, shortly after it happened. At the time of that writing, much of the information surrounding the incident remained unclear, but now new developments have emerged that quickly became public knowledge.

In the initial incident, as we reported earlier, a deputy making their way to work in a patrol car approached a line of stopped vehicles but failed to stop themselves. This resulted in the police vehicle colliding heavily with a stopped pickup truck and inflicting fatal injuries on the 34-year-old driver of that truck.

Now, audio released from the incident suggests that the cause of the crash might have been the brakes on the Dodge Charger which the officer was using at the time of the incident.

After the collision occurred, the 29-year-old officer placed a call to the department that is employed to repair and maintain the vehicles used by the sheriff’s department. In this call, the officer can be heard saying that the patrol car’s brakes failed and this happened after the car reportedly returned from the maintenance garage after undergoing an examination of its brakes.

The new information goes on to state that the Charger had been taken to Napleton’s South Orlando Dodge dealership 10 days before the fatal crash after the deputy indicated that there where times when the brakes ceased to function. The deputy reportedly told the dealership that there where times when the brakes simply ceased to function, and that pressing them instead caused the pedal to sink all the way to the floor. After driving the car for 8 miles, the mechanics working within the shop could not find anything wrong with the vehicle. It is likely that they then returned the car to the deputy.

Now that an individual is dead because of the reportedly faulty brakes, it is likely that a massive examination into not only the Charger involved but the entire fleet of police vehicles will be undertaken.

This story is still developing and it is possible that additional updates will emerge as the investigation continues.

Sources:

• Osceola deputy claims brakes malfunctioned before deadly crash

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.