A police car hit and killed Dallas pedestrian Beverly Kirk who was crossing the street after an ambulance had passed. The police car was following the ambulance as part of the response team. While the ambulance had lights and sirens on, the police car did not. The accident occurred Sunday morning at 3 am on the 9900-block of Bruton Road near Oak Branch Lane where the officers were headed.
Beverly Kirk, Family Photo
Beverly Kirk, 43, was staying with her daughter and grandson in an apartment near the accident. Beverly’s brother, Reginald Kirk, told reporters, “She was a very loving lady and had a real pretty smile.”
The Kirk family wants more answers concerning the details of the accident. “I know for a fact that she’s not going to just walk in front of a moving car,” Reginald Kirk said. “I just can’t understand why he wasn’t able to see her.”
The police have said that they are continuing to investigate the incident but have stressed the fact that police cars are not required to have their lights and sirens on when responding to a disturbance call.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time a patrol car has fatally injured a pedestrian when responding to a disturbance call. In 2008, 10-year-old Cole Berardi was killed when he tried to cross the street on his bicycle in front of a speeding police car. At the time, Police Chief Kunkle responded to the incident by requiring police to use lights and sirens whenever driving over the speed limit, but that policy has not continued under the current Police Chief.
