KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Missouri state authority that oversees emergency medical personnel has requested court documents related to the suspended criminal convictions of Kansas City, Missouri Fire Department firefighter Dominic Biscari stemming from a fatal trucking accident 14 months does in Westport.
Biscari pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of second-degree manslaughter in Jackson County Circuit Court.
He was driving a KCFD pump truck, which was speeding north on Broadway Boulevard and ran a red light causing an accident that killed three civilians.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which licenses EMTs in the state, confirmed Friday that Biscari currently has a valid EMT-Basic license.
Someone from the state health department’s Bureau of EMS on Thursday requested a copy of the criminal complaint, statement of probable cause, judgment and judicial certification from Jackson County Circuit Court.
The Department of Health and Senior Services told the KSHB 41 I-Team that it “cannot release any information about outstanding issues as this information is confidential” under Missouri state law.
But a spokesperson added that “the Department has the authority to deny or discipline EMT-Basics for criminal offenses (including both misdemeanors and misdemeanors).”
Requesting information about a paramedic’s criminal record, as was done in the Biscari case, would be one of the steps taken before the Department regulates or revokes a paramedic’s license.
You can restore a license later.
“Any licensee who has been denied or disciplined in the past may reapply with the Department,” a Department of Health and Aged Services spokesperson said by email. “If an individual has been revoked by the Department, the individual must wait one year from the revocation date to apply for reauthorization” under state law.
Biscari’s defense attorney, Kevin Regan, declined to comment on the request for health department documents.
Investigators determined that Biscari, who was responding with a four-man crew to a fire call at East 39th Street and South Benton Avenue, was driving approximately 17 mph over the posted 35 mph speed limit with the throttle wide open. as the fire truck roared at the traffic lights on 15th December 2021 at Westport Road with lights on and sirens blaring.
The KCFD pump truck, which had already been told to pull out of the shipment, crashed into an SUV driven by Jennifer San Nicolas. The two vehicles then left the roadway, killing another bystander before partially collapsing the former Riot Room building.
San Nicolas and his passenger, Michael Elwood, died in the crash along with Tami Knight, who was boarding her boyfriend’s vehicle from the curb outside the former Riot Room when the crash occurred.
A colleague had previously emailed a KCFD supervisor to express concern about Biscari’s “horrendous driving” behind the wheel of an ambulance.
Biscari was charged with and pleaded guilty Tuesday to one manslaughter charge in the deaths of Knight, San Nicolas and Elwood. He was sentenced the same day to three years’ probation instead of prison.
Acting KCPD chief Ross Grundyson said the city suspended Biscari and plans to fire him, but Regan said in a statement his client would appeal that decision and oppose his firing.
Regan also said the city failed to fully install a security system and other measures that could have prevented the crash.
The families of the three victims have settled the wrongful death civil lawsuits, but a more than $32 million breach of contract lawsuit, which Biscari joined the families against the city, has yet to be resolved.
KCFD Westport Fatal Crash: One Year Later by KSHB 41 I-Team
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