Rescue crews pull out a minivan that slid into a retention pond. Two children died.
The wrongful death lawsuit blames the crash on poor training from the dispatch center, improper design of the pond, and the fact that two children were killed.
James and Natalie Kleven were killed in the crash and their mother and baby brother were injured. A car carrying all four family members slid off the road and into a pond near a Red Roof Inn and Ruth's Chris Steak House.
The dispatch center found that first responders were delayed in arriving at the scene because of actions from two call takers.
The Kleven family filed a lawsuit on Monday, claiming that the Dispatchers acted recklessly in the incident. The suit says that the county's dispatch center failed to train call takers on new software and protocols for water rescues.
The city of Mishawaka, the Clay Township Fire Department, the Great Lakes Capitol and Bradly Company are named in the suit.
The county does not comment on pending litigation, according to the attorney. The executive director of the dispatch center did not return a phone call.
Questions surround the pond crash that killed 2 children.
Rescue divers pulled the Klevens out of the water after they were trapped in the car for over 25 minutes. James and Natalie Kleven were declared dead at the hospital after they arrived, while the mother of the baby who was at the time of the crash survived.
The Kleven family live in Granger and are represented by a Chicago-based firm. Attorneys with the firm did not respond to a reporter.
Dispatch made some mistakes.
Brooke Kleven lost control of her car in the icy conditions and slid off the road and into a retention pond as she drove east on University Park Drive. The investigators with the St. Joseph County Fatal Crash Team said there were no indications that Brooke Kleven was speeding.
Dispatchers received two calls as the Kleven's car went into the pond.
Jeffrey Downey answered the first call from a bystander who witnessed the crash.
Downey missed an opportunity to quickly identify the location of the pond because the map software used to select the location was blocked by a web browser, according to a dispatch center report. The report states that Downey also delayed the arrival of dive teams because the call was an accident and not a vehicle in water.
The second call came from Brooke Kleven, who was in her car when the water began to submerge it.
According to the center's report and lawsuit, the other end of the line failed to follow protocols by not immediately telling Brooke Kleven how to get out of the car.
The report shows shortcomings in the center's handling of the crash.
Stitsworth hid at one point to seek help from other dispatchers, but forgot to unmute herself when she began giving directions to Kleven again.
Downey resigned as a result of the incident, with Downey writing in his resignation email that he could no longer serve an organization that had neglected training and mistreated employees.
The outcome would have been different if the dispatchers had not made the mistakes that they did, according to the center's report.
According to the suit, Brooke Kleven suffers from sporadic paraplegia, while Hendrik Kleven has lost control of one of his limbs and has a speech disorder.
The pond was not in compliance with governmental regulations and the defendants are the Great Lakes Capitol and Bradley Company.
Messages seeking comment from representatives of the companies were not returned.
The city of Mishawaka was named in the suit for failing to inspect the pond and put up barriers after previous crashes.
Pat Hinkle declined to speak.
The suit doesn't ask for a specific amount of money, but it does seek compensation, economic losses, special losses, punitive damages and attorneys' fees.
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This article was originally published by the South Bend Tribune.
