Florida dad wants FHP to reopen investigation in daughter's crash death
Attorney: FHP reopens investigation into teenager's death
Attorneys representing the family of Kaylee Kennedy said FHP has reopened its investigation into her death. Kennedy was killed nearly two years ago in a head-on crash. However, two crash reports came to two different conclusions.
DELEON SPRINGS, Fla. - A Florida dad has been pleading with the Florida Highway Patrol for months to reopen its investigation into his 19-year-old daughter's death, claiming that two of the agencies' investigators reached two different conclusions.
Family: 2 conflicting reports in Florida teen's death. Why?
The backstory:
In 2024, Kaylee Kennedy was killed in a head-on crash on US-17 in DeLeon Springs.
One report concluded that the driver of a Silverado truck was going 30 mph over the speed limit, crossed a lane, and slammed into Kaylee's Jeep, killing her.
A second report, conducted by the Traffic Homicide Investigation team, concluded that Kaylee ran off the road, overcorrected, and drove into the opposite lane, and collided with the Silverado.
Both reports also differ on where the crash happened, what the speed limit was, and which lane each driver was in.
Family members said all they want is to know what happened to Kaylee.
Attorney: FHP says it's investigating
Timeline:
Kelly Chanfrau, who is representing the Kennedy Family, said FHP has not said its re-opening the case, but has started taking another look at it.
"FHP has responded that they are conducting an investigation," she said.
"It feels like they're doing something, but they could be doing more."
Chanfrau said FHP is attempting to look at the Event Data Recorder from Kaylee's Jeep and to get a toxicology report from a sample collected from the driver of the Silverado the night of the crash – two factors that were not part of the initial investigation.
FOX 35 reached out to FHP in June. The agency told FOX 35 that the case had been closed. When reached on Wednesday, a spokesperson deferred our inquiry to a more senior person. We did not receive a response.
Not the first time FHP has reopened an investigation
One of the troopers involved in Kaylee’s crash report is named in a federal lawsuit over a botched investigation where troopers arrested the wrong person in a deadly hit-and-run.
Both cases involve multiple troopers from FHP’s Troop D. And now, both families are demanding action.
"I really worry about the future of other families that have a tragedy in their life, I don't want to see this happen to them either. So if there's a problem in Troop D, it needs to get corrected now," said Darren Kennedy, Kaylee’s father.
The Source: FOX 35's Marie Edinger talked with Darren Kennedy, Kaylee's father, and Attorney Kelly Chanfrau, who is representing the Kennedy Family. FOX 35 reached out to FHP for comment, and did not receive a response prior to publication.