A Denver resident filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Denver and several of its agencies on Tuesday after his wife and stepdaughter were killed in a crash involving a Denver fire truck last year. 

Benjamin Hendry alleges the city and fire department failed to properly train firefighters on safely driving and operating the truck’s device used to change traffic lights. 

The suit also alleges the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure failed to train and supervise the instillation and maintenance of traffic control solutions and traffic lights. 

The fatal crash happened on Jan. 23, 2021 near the intersection of North Broadway and East Speer Boulevard. Hendry’s wife of 39-years, Debra Williams, 53, and step-daughter Monica Charles, 38, died as a result of the crash.

The lawsuit claims Charles, who was driving a Honda Civic at the time of the crash, had a green light when they entered the intersection. The vehicle was struck by a firetruck in the intersection, which caused the vehicle to roll several times, sending it between 75 and 100 feet from where it was hit, according to the suit. 

Both victims were transported to the hospital, where they later died. 

Greg Pixley, a spokesman for the Denver Fire Department, said on the day of the crash that the firetruck was en route to a report of smoke in a building located on the corner of 14th Avenue and Kalamath Street. 

Pixley said on Thursday that the firefighter involved was never disciplined but added that the truck’s lights and sirens were operating at the time of the crash and there was no indication that the traffic lights were inoperable. 

“The loss of life is a tremendous, emotional burden for everyone involved,” Pixley said. “We can’t lose context surrounding that important piece, but with litigation comes to the fact that the opportunity for us to speak about it is somewhat limited at that point. We will allow the facts to be determine throughout the case as that goes through.”