Six Sued in Firefighter Fatality

No less than six different companies are allegedly responsible for their failure to repair and maintain a Boston Fire Department firetruck that resulted in the death of Lieutenant Kevin M. Kelley last year, as reported by Boston.com

The Kelley family has filed the wrongful death lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court against each of the companies that had been contracted by the city to inspect the braking system of the firetruck and to also make sure that the brakes were working properly.

Boston Fire Department Ladder 26 experienced a brake failure on January 9, 2009 that not only caused Kelley's death, but also endangered civilians when the truck traveled across Mission Hill's Parker Hill Avenue and crashed right through a brick wall and into another building on Huntington Avenue.

The six companies named for gross negligence include: Bay State Auto Spring Manufacturing Co. of Roxbury; Boston Freightliner Inc. of Everett; Broadway Brake Corp. of Somerville; Damian Diesel Inc. of Avon; Suspension Specialists Inc. of Allston; and Woodward's Auto Spring Shop Inc. of Brockton.

The suit alleges that faulty brake work was provided, and that mistakes made during inspection directly led to the truck's inability to stop itself.

Philip D'Angelo, president of the Broadway Brake company, said, "We didn't really do anything to that vehicle. We did a state inspection on that vehicle a year before, so I know it's not going anywhere as far as we're concerned. We didn't do anything to it. What I've done is hand [the lawsuit] over to my insurance company, and they'll deal with it."

Damian Diesel, a company no longer in business per president Damian Frattasil, claims that the company never worked on brakes but only "looked" at the firetruck's engine.

The suit states that over a period of time defendants either improperly installed brakes, brake linings and put the wrong parts in the brakes. They also failed to recognize their mistakes between several inspections and service calls. 

Their negligence left Ladder 26 with inadequate braking in the right rear wheels and no braking at all in the left rear wheels.

The suit has been filed on behalf of Kelley's daughter Susan and widow Gloria. They are seeking unspecified damages.

Susan Kelly said, "My father was a good man and a hero to the end.  I hope that these mistakes will be prevented from happening again so that no other firefighter will have to die needlessly."

James E. Byrne, the Boston-based attorney for the Kelley family said, "Lieutenant Kevin Kelley's tragic death was preventable and unnecessary.  The repeated failure of these outside service vendors to provide proper maintenance, install the correct braking components, and recognize and correct their mistakes through proper inspection was inexcusable."

The accident occurred following a 911 call while Ladder 26 was returning to their fire station on Huntington Avenue.  When the brakes failed, Kelley, riding in the front passenger seat, was able to alert other drivers and pedestrians by using the truck's horn. But, as the runaway truck gained speed and crashed into a building, Kelley was the only fatality. Four other firefighters and several people were injured in the crash.

A report by Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley in December 2009 revealed that the main cause of the crash was brake failure possibly due to years of both "insufficient and substandard" repairs.

If someone you care about has been the victim of an accident that caused their wrongful death, click here to contact a personal injury lawyer in our directory to discuss your case.