KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Despite the Jackson County Circuit Court’s finding “beyond a reasonable doubt” that suspended Kansas City, Missouri, firefighter Dominic Biscari was guilty of involuntary manslaughter, the court accepted an Alford plea Tuesday, according to court documents.
An Alford plea, also known as a “best-interests plea,” is a relatively rare special guilty plea in which the defendant maintains their innocence but agrees to plead guilty because they do not believe they will prevail at trial.
Biscari was the driver of a KCFD pumper truck that sped through a red light Dec. 15, 2021, at Broadway Boulevard and Westport Road, causing a wreck that left three people dead and a building partially collapsed.
He was charged Tuesday — more than 14 months after the deadly crash and a year after prosecutors received the case from Kansas City, Missouri, police — with three counts of second-degree involuntary manslaughter, a class E felony.
Biscari was sentenced to three years of probation as part of the plea agreement, which his lawyers negotiated with the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office before charges were announced.
Within hours of the charges being posted in Casenet, Biscari appeared in court to plead guilty in an unusually fast resolution to the criminal proceedings.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker’s office announced Biscari’s probation, but the nature of the plea and additional plea details weren’t immediately available.
Biscari also must perform 40 hours of community service.
Jackson County Judge Janette K. Rodecap also fined Biscari $46 for the Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund.
The city settled a series of wrongful-death lawsuits filed by the families of the victims — Michael Elwood, Tami Knight and Jennifer San Nicolas — for $1.6 million last month.
He also is barred from any contact with the victims or witnesses in his case “outside of court-related proceedings” and is prohibited from owning or possessing a gun or ammunition while on probation.
Biscari and the victims’ families are also plaintiffs in a $32.4-million civil lawsuit against the city of Kansas City for breach of contract. The lawsuit is based on the findings of an independent arbitrator.
IAFF Local 42, the union that represents KCFD, also is a party to the lawsuit against KCMO.
KCFD Interim Chief Ross Grundyson suspended Biscari without pay and said the department will move to have him fired, but Biscari’s defense attorney, Kevin Regan, said in a statement that his client would appeal such a decision.
It may be a moot point if the guilty plea costs Biscari his EMT-Basic license.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ Bureau of EMS has requested court records related to the involuntary manslaughter charges against Biscari.
Regan claims a lack of proper training and equipment as well as the city’s failure to fully install safety systems contributed to the deadly crash.
He sent KSHB 41 a revised statement Friday morning:
Every night, while the City sleeps, these brave men and women dash to their firetrucks and risk their lives to save our lives, our homes, and our property.
When the alarm bell rings, they fearlessly answer the call to duty.
Sadly, the City has failed to answer the bell for its firefighters. It provides unsafe intersections, inefficient radio communication, outdated stoplight technology, and meaningless legal representation for these brave public servants.
The City’s actions toward Dominic are without Due Process and lack just cause, and they know it.
The City is not taking care of its citizens.
A coworker who rode with Biscari in a KCFD ambulance had complained to supervisors about his “horrendous driving,” but there’s no indication that any action was taken.
Biscari was driving 17 mph over the posted 35-mph speed limit northbound on Broadway through a red light when he struck San Nicolas’ vehicle, killing her and her passenger, Elwood.
Knight was standing on a nearby sidewalk, getting into her boyfriend’s car when the KCFD pumper truck and San Nicolas’ SUV hit her as they left the road and partially collapsed the former Riot Room building.
Deadly KCFD Westport crash: One year later by KSHB Producer
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