Protest planned for Kansas City firefighter allowed back on the job after causing deadly crash

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - As Kansas City firefighter Dominic Biscari officially returns to work after entering an Alford Plea for the death of three people in a car crash, those close to the deceased worry that more lives may be at risk.

According to court records, Biscari’s supervised probation allows him to get back behind the wheel of a vehicle.

The crash happened on the night of Dec. 15th, 2021, at the intersection of Broadway and Westport Rd. where Dominic Biscari ran through a red light in a firetruck as his crew responded to a house fire.

Kansas City’s Fire Department Policy now requires crews to come to a stop at red lights, even when on a call. This policy was not in place at the time.

Biscari t-boned the Honda Jennifer San Nicolas and Michael Elwood had been in. They were pronounced dead at the scene. The impact caused their car to collide with Tami Knight, who was also pronounced dead at the scene.

Justice, ability, and change summarize the message Laura Norris and others want to send to Kansas City leaders after they learned Dominic Biscari cannot only return as a firefighter but also be allowed to drive firetrucks to calls.

“It was his first time behind the wheel, and he killed three people,” Norris said. “I feel like the minimum they can do is tell us he won’t drive again and that can be some form of justice.”

Jennifer San Nicholas and Michael Elwood worked for Norris at her restaurant, Ragazza Food and Wine. But they were considered like family to her and others.

“Jen was our food expenditure and was probably the best food expenditure in Kansas City,” Norris recalled. “Michael was a student from the Art Institute. The next day after he died would have been his last shift.”

“They were always kind, always funny and just always having a good time,” Addie Vanzutphen added. “Really good people.”

In a settlement with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, Dominic Biscari agreed to be placed on three years of supervised probation.

The agreement requires KCFD s to monitor his performance behind the wheel of any emergency vehicle and complete an EMS Vehicle Operator Safety Course. Biscari finished these both back in July of 2023.

For those close to the people he killed, that’s not good enough.

“Warnings were ignored,” Norris said. “He had complaints about his driving, he crashed into a police car on the site of his fire department. He wrecked an ambulance, the fact that he was allowed to drive that night is beyond me.”

Emails shared with KCTV show that colleagues of Biscari complained about how he was driving an ambulance in September of 2021. The documents indicated that Biscari had driven “too fast, both with and without a patient in the ambulance.” At some points, “staff were thrown around the back of the ambulance” as Biscari took turns too fast and hard. One even detailed an incident in which he made an ambulance become “airborne at one point while going over a hill.”

The protest also calls for Kansas City to place censors at all intersections so that when lights of emergency vehicles are detected, traffic symbols can alert drivers to stop as first responders come through.

“It could have been anyone in that intersection, it should not have been anyone in that intersection,” Vanzutphen told KCTV. “Getting called off of a call but going through intersections at that speed is something we shouldn’t be doing in Kansas City, we’re better than that.”

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