Seattle: India’s consulate in Seattle has raised with authorities the case of Indian student Jaahnavi Kandula after the prosecution attorney said an overspeeding Seattle police officer who struck and killed her while responding to a drug overdose call will not face any criminal charges citing lack of “sufficient” evidence.
Kandula, 23, from Andhra Pradesh, was struck by a police vehicle driven by officer Kevin Dave when she was crossing a street in Seattle on Jan 23 last year. He was driving at a speed over 119 km/ hr on the way to a report of a drug overdose call. Kandula was thrown 100 feet when she was struck by the speeding police patrol vehicle.
The King County Prosecutor’s Office said they would not move forward with criminal charges against Dave due to a lack of evidence to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt. India’s consulate in Seattle also said it was monitoring the progress in the case and will extend all possible support in ensuring justice for Kandula and her family.
Another Indian student died
Akul Dhawan, the 18-year-old first-year student at the University of Illinois in Urbana, died due to hypothermia, Champaign County Coroner’s Office said after a toxicology report that added, “acute alcohol intoxication and prolonged exposure to extremely cold temperatures, significantly contributed to his death.”
Dhawan had been out drinking with his friends at a club close to the campus that day and according to CCTV, he and his friends had visited the Canopy Club that day but were denied entry at around 11.30 pm when they tried to re-enter the club. The Kansas City quoted investigators as saying that Dhawan tried to enter the club “multiple times, but was repeatedly denied by staff,” and that he turned down two rideshare vehicles that were called for him.
The university said in a statement that one of his friends reached out to the campus police on the same day after calls to him went unanswered through the night. Police said that they searched the premises and contacted his friends but did not find him. He was found the next day, behind a building a short distance from the club.