LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The former Louisville Metro Police officer who hit and killed a man in April while responding to a call without lights and sirens activated said there isn't a day that goes by that she wishes it never happened.
Alyssa Begel declined an interview request from WDRB, but answered questions through her attorney, Todd Lewis, in an email Friday. It's the first time the former Louisville officer has spoken out since the crash.
Begel resigned last week before her 30-day suspension from LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey was finished, and six months after she was involved in a fatal crash after driving 95 mph in a 45 mph zone on Fern Valley Road without her lights and sirens activated while responding to a call.
An LMPD internal investigation into the crash, obtained by WDRB News in August under the Kentucky Open Records Law, showed there was no physical evidence Begel applied her brakes before crashing into a car driven by Charles Briscoe, 61, who was driving drunk.
According to the investigation, Begel was responding to an emergency call on April 2 after an EMS crew reported a patient inside an ambulance was being disorderly. Dashcam video shows Begel swerving through traffic before the impact, when her cruiser hit a black Cadillac that had pulled onto Fern Valley Road. Briscoe died at the scene. Begel was injured in the crash, and had been put on paid administrative leave.
A toxicology report shows Briscoe had a blood alcohol level of .173, nearly twice the legal limit. He turned into Begel's path, according to the investigation.
"This particular event is something I never anticipated and I find it devastating," Begel said Friday when asked why she resigned. "I decided I do not want to move forward in law enforcement at this time.”
When asked if she wants to get another law enforcement job, she said "not at this time."
LMPD's Public Integrity Unit, which investigates police department members criminally, turned its case over to the Jefferson Commonwealth's Attorney's Office in early June. A Jefferson County grand jury returned a "no true bill" against Begel in Briscoe's death on July 30, meaning they declined to indict her on a charge of second-degree manslaughter in Briscoe's death.
Detectives completed the internal investigations into Begel, who said she felt they did well.
"I feel grateful for the chief’s disciplinary action," she said.
Begel also had a message for Briscoe's family.
"I hate that this happened. I hate that it was something you had to experience," she said. "Not a day goes by I wish this never happened.”
Begel said she had serious impact fractures from the crash to her tibia and fibula and she's still seeking medical treatment.
Briscoe's family could not be reached for comment.
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