KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The brother of one of the victims from December's Westport crash involving a Kansas City, Missouri fire truck is reacting to new videos obtained by the KSHB 41 I-Team.
"Incredibly difficult to watch," Nathan Elwood, brother of Michael Elwood, one one of the victims in the crash, said Friday. "I mean it's the last few seconds of my brother's life."
Elwood watched the videos for the first time on Friday morning.
"It brought back a lot of the emotions I had the day of and the day after and still have today," Elwood said.
His brother was the passenger in the Honda SUV.
"Like when I was watching it, I like physically moved towards the video wanting to like stop it from happening," Elwood said.
The I-Team received the videos after filing an open records request.
In one of the videos, you can see a KCFD pumper truck traveling from the top of the screen going north on Broadway Boulevard. You then see the Honda SUV traveling west on Westport Road.
They collided at the intersection in December.
Michael and the SUV's driver, Jennifer San Nicolas, died that night.
"Just utter sadness, loss," Elwood said. "It's a very deep loneliness and sadness."
In another video, you see Tami Knight walking with her boyfriend. We froze the video before the crash happens and kills Knight.
A different camera gives the view of the former Riot Room building beginning to collapse.
On Friday, the I-Team spoke with attorney Tim Dollar about the videos. He is representing the Elwood family in a wrongful death lawsuit.
"Well, first, they're very disturbing," Dollar said. "Obviously, they're disturbing for all of the members of the family, but they clearly indicate what the allegations in our petitions have said all along."
The allegations include the driver of Pumper 19 was negligent and "failed to exercise the highest degree of care."
The lawsuits also allege the pumper driver "failed to yield the right of way."
"You still like any other motorist even with lights and siren are obligated to make sure the intersection is safe to proceed through and the video, which as you now have seen, tells a very different story," Dollar said.
For Nathan Elwood, he's torn about the videos now being public.
"Had they not come public, I don't know if my family would've ever seen them and I don't think that we would've ever had to kind of relive it again, but to the same extent, I think it's important for accountability," Elwood said.
On Friday, the I-Team contacted the attorneys representing the victims' families ahead of this story airing.
As for the investigation, a spokesman with the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said they are still reviewing the crash.
The I-Team circled back with the city and did not hear back on Friday. On Thursday, a spokesman said the city won't comment because of the active lawsuits.
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